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SHAME on Kurds who allowed Hasankeyf to be DESTROYED

A place for discussion and exchanging ideas about Kurdistan issues here, also a place for sharing article & views and analysis about Kurdistan .

Re: Hasankeyf is on Kurdish land and Kurds MUST protect it

PostAuthor: Anthea » Mon Mar 26, 2018 10:21 pm

Hasankeyf merchants to protest DSİ's eviction order

Merchants in Hasankeyf have agreed to gather at the old municipal building this morning to express their opposition to the eviction notice issued by the DSİ (Turkey's State Hydraulic Works). They continue to insist that it is too early to move to the new settlement area, which cannot at present support a level of commercial activity anywhere near that of the current market in historic Hasankeyf.

It has been a month since the DSİ issued a tebligat (official notice) ordering the merchants to vacate their present stores. Pressure is mounting. A few Hasankeyf residents have been forced to move from their homes on Dicle Sokak, and these houses have been demolished to make way for the removal of architectural elements.

To force the merchants out of their current locations before the new settlement area can support commercial activity would potentially violate the universal human right to work (as outlined in our letter to DSİ executives two weeks ago). The universal right to work is guaranteed by Turkey's 1982 Constitution (e.g., IV. Freedom to work and make contracts, Article 48; V. Work-related Provisions, Article 49).

The level of economic injustice perpetrated by the state (according to procedures defined in a Council of State Declaration issued in 2015 and amended in 2016) is completely out of line with international conventions and standards for sustainable economic development:

    Some Hasankeyf merchants have not been allowed to purchase new commercial property because they reside in surrounding villages and were, therefore, excluded from the compensation and relocation plan set up for Hasankeyf residents.

    Others report that they have been the denied the right to buy commercial property because they are not married.

    Some local entrepreneurs who have been operating various businesses in Hasankeyf for years have nonetheless been prevented from buying property due to bureaucratic technicalities (e.g., missing the cut-off date for registering a business, which was several years before the announcement in 2015 of procedures for resettlement).

    A number of business owners have borrowed money to purchase equipment and/or merchandise and worry that they face severe financial hardship, or ruin, if they are not able to continue doing business in their current location.

We reiterate our hope that the merchants of Hasankeyf will be allowed to conduct business in their current locations at least until the cultural heritage conservation project is nearing completion and the majority of residents of Hasankeyf have moved to the new settlement area.

http://www.hasankeyfmatters.com/
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Re: Hasankeyf is on Kurdish land and Kurds MUST protect it

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Re: Hasankeyf is on Kurdish land and Kurds MUST protect it

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Apr 10, 2018 10:56 pm

Soon-to-be-displaced residents of Hasankeyf have nowhere to go

The Ilısu Dam, nearing completion, will soon displace residents of the ancient settlement of Hasankeyf, but many of them will be ineligible for relocation and have been given nowhere to go.

“Neolithic caves line the surrounding cliffs, atop which a Roman citadel rises over early Ottoman minarets,” DW said in describing the area, adding that a few kilometers downstream construction on the Ilısu Dam is nearing completion and that this part of the Tigris River valley will soon become a reservoir, inundating Hasankeyf in the process. The project has been decades in the making, and despite local and international protests — in which European banks withdrew funding – recent developments suggest water levels will start rising this summer, though a firm date has yet to be announced.

Reporting that the final turbine will be installed in the 1,200-megawatt dam this spring, DW said that “To prepare, Turkey’s General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works [DSİ] issued eviction notices in February to Hasankeyf merchants, ordering them to close up shop and move to the new Hasankeyf being built across the river on higher ground.”

“The notice was met with protests. Merchants complained the new town was not yet complete and they would be unable to conduct business away from the historic sites where they have long made a livelihood from selling souvenirs to passing tourists,” DW reported.

The government has built 710 housing units in the new Hasankeyf and is allocating them only to families registered as residents of Hasankeyf. Though Merut Tekin was born and raised in Hasankeyf, he is single, so he is not eligible to purchase either housing or a commercial property in the new town. Merchants who rent shops in Hasankeyf but live in adjacent towns will also be denied property and state assistance.

“The looming project prompted Hasankeyf residents to move out over the decades, driving the town’s population down from 10,000 to about 2,000 year-round residents,” wrote DW. Citing John Crofoot, an American who has lived on and off in Hasankeyf for six years and is the co-founder of Hasankeyf Matters, which tries to raise awareness of the hamlet, the German news outlet stated that the first proposals for the Ilısu Dam were introduced in the 1950s. Since then, the prospect of a reservoir flooding the area has diverted investments away from Hasankeyf.

Over the years, Crofoot has documented developments in Hasankeyf. He said the last few months have been the most difficult for local residents. Work crews have been blasting limestone cliffs dotted with 10,000-year-old caves to fill in valleys that once operated as tourist attractions in order to rid the area of loose, potentially hazardous rocks that could collapse when water levels rise.

The state claims dynamite is not being used in the process, but residents told DW they often hear explosions coming from work areas. Large earthwork projects are also underway in Hasankeyf, one of which is meant to reinforce a cliff topped with a Roman citadel, as it will remain above the reservoir’s projected water line.

Hasankeyf residents interviewed by DW said demolition plans were never publicly shared and independent environmental impact studies had not been conducted. Such claims were refuted by Alexander Schwab, senior vice president of Andritz Hydro, the Vienna-based company overseeing the construction of Ilısu Dam. Schwab said every house in the area was tracked via aerial surveillance and later visited by consultants who informed inhabitants about the construction plans.

According to DW, Ulrich Eichelmann, CEO of Riverwatch in Vienna, disagrees. “If you destroy all this, you are in no way better than the Taliban in Bamiyam, where they destroyed the Buddha statues a few years ago,” Eichelmann said. “It’s a similar act of idiocy. It’s crazy.”

Civilized life in the ancient town of Hasankeyf dates back to the eighth century B.C., and the drawings inside the caves scattered around the town shed light on different periods, cultures and architectures of humanity. It is home to evidence of the roots of the human species, the beginning of agriculture and the beginning of civilization. The nearly 6,000 caves around the town are one of the first sites of human settlement.

With its history and nature, Hasankeyf fulfills nine of the 10 UNESCO criteria to be protected as part of the human heritage. Hasankeyf also possesses one of the richest treasures of Islamic monuments. Sitting on the banks of the Tigris River, the town is one of the most important architectural and archaeological sites in the world, boasting a rich biodiversity and 12,000 years of human history. Masterpieces of Islamic architecture, dating from the 12th to 15th centuries C.E., make the town one of the best preserved witnesses to Seljuk urban culture, particularly from the Artukid and Ayyubid dynasties.

A small town with a great heritage, Hasankeyf already attracts about 500,000 visitors each year, a number that is expected to rise. Given its historical, architectural and economic significance for the region, public opinion supports its preservation. The area was declared a First Degree Archaeological Site by Turkey’s Supreme Board of Monuments in 1978 and has been under the protection of the Culture Ministry’s General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums since 1981.

There are more than 300 archaeological sites within 7,000 hectares of land where the town settled. Eighty-three of these sites are directly affected by the dam, and the others are susceptible to the dam’s erosion affect.

https://stockholmcf.org/report-soon-to- ... ere-to-go/
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Re: Prevent the crime against humanity in Hasankeyf

PostAuthor: Anthea » Wed Apr 11, 2018 10:16 pm

Crime against humanity in Hasankeyf

There is a crime against humanity being committed in Hasankeyf which, with its 12 millenia long history, will be flooded when the Ilısu Dam is completed.

921

People from Hasankeyf say the destruction of the 12 millenia old ancient city is a crime against humanity and the world should not remain silent in the face of that.

Hasankeyf resident Musa Şengel stated that the foundation of humanity was laid in Mesopotamia, and human history and all its mysteries are hidden in the ancient city of Hasankeyf and said the grave discovered last year was 15 thousand years old. Şengel said, “Hasankeyf is the heart of Mesopotamia. It is the identity of history and humanity. People should not remain silent. We will continue to defend Hasankeyf.”

THEY LOOT EVERYTHING

Tourism worker Fırat Argun, who has been defending Hasankeyf in all platforms for years to keep the city alive, stated that even mosques have been demolished with construction equipment with no regard. Argun said: “They first tore down the mosque in Hasankeyf. This ugly approach is disrespectful to our faith. Then they demolished the homes of district residents. Those who could demolish the house of Allah could of course tear down the houses of citizens with great ease. They even tore down the nests of incubating animals. Everybody should stand up against this tyranny.”

THE MOVE IS FOR SHOW

Recenty some artifacts have been moved to different locations under the guise of preserving Hasankeyf, but the globally important historic treasures in the ancient city have both been damaged by construction equipment, and are doomed to be flooded. As Hasankeyf goes through the last of its times, domestic and foreign tourists rush to the area to see the ancient city for one last time before it is destroyed.
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Re: Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day 28 April 2018

PostAuthor: Anthea » Tue Apr 24, 2018 2:15 am

Call for Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day

Ecological movements issued a common call for the Global Action Day for Sur and Hasankeyf on April 28

Yesterday in Diyarbakir (Amed), ecological movements issued a common call for the Global Action Day for Sur and Hasankeyf.

We publish the full text of the call for Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day by The Platform Against The Destruction of Sur (Sur’un Yıkımına Hayır Platformu), Mesopotamia Ecology Movement (Mezopotamya Ekoloji Hareketi), Istanbul Sur Solidarity Platform (İstanbul Sur’la Dayanışma Platformu), Hasankeyf Initiative (Hasankeyf’i Yaşatma Girişimi) and Let Munzur Flow Freely Assembly (Munzur Özgür Aksın Meclisi).

“As a result of intensive discussions we made with numerous institutions, individuals, platforms and initiatives respectıng history, society and nature, it has been decided to declare April 28,2018 as the Global Action Day for Sur and Hasankeyf. We expect that a series of simultaneous actions and events will be held on April 28 in around one dozen countries.

By these actions, we will raise these demands;

    Lift the Ban upon Sur, Let Sur Live. Let the People of Sur return to their homes!

    Stop the Destruction and Relocation of Hasankeyf; Let the Tigris river flow freely!

    'Stop the Historical, Political, Ecological and Cultural Crime in Sur and Hasankeyf!'
DO NOT ALLOW THE MASSACRE OF HASANKEYF

DESTRUCTION OF UNIQUE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

FLORA & FAUNA FOUND NOWHERE ELSE ON EARTH

DEFEND THE COMMON HISTORY OF SUR AND HASANKEYF

SAVE KURDISH NATURE AND CULTURE!


In order to express our demands, various actions will be held on April 28, 2018 in one dozen countries and in many cities of Turkey with the invitation of Artists, Intellectuals, Authors, Ecology and Environmental Movements, Urban Movements, Women's Organizations, NGOs, Platform and Initiatives, Sensitive Political Parties and Unions, Professional Organizations and Chambers.

We would like to invite all sensitive circles and our people to participate in the actions and to embrace the ancient cities of Sur and Hasankeyf which have hosted humanity for thousands of years on the banks of the Tigris River. These cities are the common heritage of humanity and they belong to everyone. Therefore, it is all of our interest. For this reason, we invite everyone to take responsibility and embrace these cities to stop the destruction, relocation and sale of these cities. With these feelings and thoughts, we invite everyone to participate in these events in the cities where the events of April 28th will be held and to join this voice. We believe and we know that so many people are against the destruction of these cities. The way of revealing what we are against is through legitimate and democratic ways of supporting the scream of SUR and HASANKEYF

We will also organize a number of events to support the ancient cities of Sur and Hasankeyf in Amed with our components and sensitive institutions on April 28th. These events will begin with a statement to the press and public including the opinions of the people of Sur, Hasankeyf, many other experts and the people who are deeply committed to these cities in terms of expressing our suggestions and requests regarding the current situation of the two cities.

The statement will be made at 12:00 in front of the Grand Mosque (Ulucami) in Sur. After the statement, a number of inspections will be held with the artists and delegations coming from other cities in Ali Pasha and Lalebey Neighborhoods where the urban transformation still continues. In the evening, poetry-music audition and documentary shows will be held about Sur.

So we say

'Stop the Historical, Political, Ecological and Cultural Crime in Sur and Hasankeyf!'

STOP THE DECTRUCTION AND RELOCATION IN HASANKEYF
LET THE TIGRIS RIVER FLOW FREELY!

LIFT THE BANS UPON SUR, LET SUR LIVE, LET SUR PEOPLE RETURN HOME!

DO NO LET THE MASSACRE OF CITY AND NATURE; DEFEND THE COMMON HISTORY, NATURE AND CULTURE!


We invite everyone to become the scream of

    HASANKEYF

    HASANKEYF

    HASANKEYF
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Re: Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day 28 April 2018

PostAuthor: Anthea » Wed Apr 25, 2018 10:46 pm

The countdown has begun X(

A huge dam project in Turkeyʹs southeast is forcing residents of an ancient town earmarked for flooding to uproot. Yet many still donʹt know where they should go. Diego Cupolo reports from Hasankeyf

Merut Tekin comes from a long line of merchants in southeast Turkey. From as far back as anyone can remember, his family has run shops in Hasankeyf, an ancient Silk Road trading post on the banks of the Tigris River.

Neolithic caves line the surrounding cliffs, atop which a Roman citadel rises over early Ottoman minarets. From his shop, Tekin can observe a fair chunk of human history with a quick glance, but he is likely to be the last of his relatives to enjoy such a view.

A few kilometres downstream, construction on the Ilisu Dam is nearing completion and this part of the Tigris River valley will soon become a reservoir, inundating Hasankeyf in the process.

A drawn-out process

The project has been decades in the making, and despite local and international protests – in which European banks withdrew funding – recent developments suggest water levels will start rising this summer, though a firm date has yet to be announced.

"Since I was born, I've been under stress because of the dam," says Tekin, 38. "There's always been the rumour that the project would be finished this year, the project will be finished next year."

"The analogy I use is that it's like having a death sentence. You are standing on a chair with a rope around your neck, but the chair is neither kicked, nor is the rope taken off," he continued. "You just stand there waiting; it's terrible."

Now it seems the wait is coming to end, as the final turbine will be installed in the 1,200-megawatt dam this spring. To prepare, Turkey's General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works (DSI) issued eviction notices in February to Hasankeyf merchants, ordering them to close up shop and move to the new Hasankeyf being built across the river on higher ground.

The notice was met with protests. Merchants complained the new town was not yet complete and they would be unable to conduct business away from the historical sites where they have long made a livelihood from selling souvenirs to passing tourists.

Yet while Tekin reflects on the heritage and businesses being lost, his mind is preoccupied with the coming reality that he, along with other locals, will not be allowed to move to the new Hasankeyf due to restrictions in Turkish relocation and compensation laws.

No room for bachelors

The state has built 710 housing units in the new Hasankeyf and is allocating them only to families registered as residents of Hasankeyf. Though Tekin was born and raised in Hasankeyf, he is single, so he is not eligible to purchase neither housing nor a commercial property in the new town.

Merchants who rent shops in Hasankeyf but live in adjacent towns will also be denied property and state assistance.

Tekin makes light of his situation, blaming the Ilisu Dam for his bachelor status by pointing out that the looming project prompted Hasankeyf residents to move out over the decades, driving the town's population down from 10,000 to about 2,000 year-round residents.

"When we want to marry, we can't because the population is decreasing … and then they say, 'You're not married so we won't give you another house,'" Tekin said.

Ongoing demolition and construction

The first proposals for the Ilisu Dam were introduced in the 1950s. Since then, the prospect of a reservoir flooding the area has diverted investments away from Hasankeyf, said John Crofoot, an American who has lived on and off in Hasankeyf for six years and the co-founder of Hasankeyf Matters, which tries to raise awareness of the hamlet.

"The people of Hasankeyf, they've done a huge service to the world, in my opinion, by keeping this as a living site of cultural heritage and they've done it at great expense," Crofoot said. "They've lost out on a lot of economic opportunity by staying in Hasankeyf."

Over the years, Crofoot has documented developments in Hasankeyf. He said the last few months have been the most difficult for local residents. Work crews have been blasting limestone cliffs dotted with 10,000-year-old caves to fill in valleys that once operated as tourist attractions in order to rid the area of loose, potentially hazardous rocks that could collapse when water levels rise.

The state claims dynamite is not being used in the process, but residents were adament that they often heard explosions coming from work areas. Large earthwork projects are also underway in Hasankeyf, one of which is meant to reinforce a cliff topped with a Roman citadel, as it will remain above the reservoir's projected water line. Hasankeyf residents interviewed said demolition plans were never publicly shared and independent environmental impact studies had not been conducted.

An "act of idiocy"

Such claims were refuted by Alexander Schwab, senior vice president of Andritz Hydro, the Vienna-based company overseeing the construction of Ilisu Dam. Schwab said every house in the area was tracked via aerial surveillance and later visited by consultants who informed inhabitants about construction plans.

"We have put a lot of effort in discussion and in contribution from our side in order to have all the positive and negative effects under control," says Schwab. "If we hadn't believed that the project is a good project, we wouldn't have done it."

Ulrich Eichelmann, CEO of Riverwatch in Vienna, disagrees. "If you destroy all this, you are in no way better than the Taliban in Bamiyan, where they destroyed the Buddha statues a few years ago," Eichelmann said. "It's a similar act of idiocy. It's crazy."

https://en.qantara.de/content/turkeys-c ... -has-begun
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Re: Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day 28 April 2018

PostAuthor: Anthea » Wed Apr 25, 2018 10:57 pm

What are the problems with building the Ilisu dam?

    It will drown the ancient town of Hasankeyf and many nearby villages, displacing 78,000 people, mainly Kurds, from their homes and farms, and wrecking the environment on which their communities have relied for survival for thousands of years. There has still been no effective consultation with local people.

    It will drown hundreds of ancient sites, and much Kurdish and other archaeological heritage.

    The dam will have a life of only 50 to 70 years, so for dubious short-term gains thousands of people will lose their homes and livelihoods, and an important and beautiful site will be permanently destroyed.

    It will reduce the Kurdish population in the area and create refugees at a time when there is already a serious risk of escalation in the conflict between the Turkish state and the guerrillas of the PKK.

    Given the additional control it will give Turkey over the flow of the Tigris, it has the potential to increase tension between Turkey and its downstream neighbour Iraq.
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Re: 28 April SAVE Hasankeyf: dam that ONLY lasts 50 years

PostAuthor: Anthea » Wed Apr 25, 2018 11:25 pm

Ilisu Dam - Hasankeyf

This project is a disgrace. It will further add to the risk of conflict in one of the most unstable parts of the world. The whole thing makes nonsense of the Foreign Office's ethical and environmental policies. -- Tony Juniper, Friends of the Earth

We have to stop this project before the British government is party to fermenting war in the Middle East, destroying part of the homelands of the Kurdish people and major environmental destruction. -- Tony Juniper, Friends of the Earth

Ilisu must be considered a prominent test case for the policy coherence between export credit agencies and bilateral as well as multilateral development institutions. Will the governments of OECD countries fund a project which violates the most basic guidelines of development finance which they have collectively established and approved? -- Peter Bosshard, Berne Declaration

As the question of human rights in South-East Turkey was raised, 40 supporters stood up holding pictures of torture victims. One shareholder looked at a picture of Turkish soldiers holding severed human heads like trophies and said, 'These are probably faked you know, it's easy enough to mock up pictures like this.' -- Mark Thomas

We are astonished that the Foreign Office did not raise any questions about the proposed Ilisu Dam and its effect on the human rights of those living in the region. -- House of Commons International Development Select Committee

The Ilisu Dam is part of a $1.52 billion (excluding financing costs) hydroelectric scheme on the Tigris in Turkish occupied Kurdistan, 65 km upstream of the Turkish border with Syria and Iraq. The scheme is part of the continuing Turkish war against the Kurdish people.

The Ilisu Dam will enable Turkey to control the waters of the Tigris, to deny Syria and Iraq water at the turn of a tap. Filling the reservoir will take at least half the annual flow of the Tigris. Turkey has previously threatened to deny water to Syria and Iraq, and shut the flow of water to a mere trickle.

Water is seen as the resource which will spark the wars of the 21st century. Turkey has refused to support the 1997 UN Convention on the Non-Navigational Uses of Transboundary Waterways. Turkey, along with the other human rights pariahs of China and Burundi, is the only country to refuse to sign the Convention. In the construction and operation of the Ilisu Dam Turkey will be in breach of international agreements with both Iraq and Syria.

Denial of water to Syria and Iraq is likely to be the spark that starts the next Middle East war. As Turkey is a Nato member the rest of Europe could be drawn into a conflict which is not of its making, in which it has no interest.

The Ilisu Dam will flood the heart of Turkish occupied Kurdistan. 52 villages and 15 small towns will be destroyed by the Ilisu Dam, many others partially flooded, an estimated 15,000 to 25,000 people displaced. These to be added to the 3 million displaced Kurds, 4,000 villages destroyed in Turkey's long running war of genocide against the Kurds.

One of the towns to be destroyed is Hasankeyf, a Kurdish town of about 5,500 people. Hasankeyf dates from at least 10,000 years ago, it has survived to date without destruction. Just one of the important jewels within Hasankeyf is the tomb of the holy Imam Abdullah, grandson of Cafer-I Tayyar, the prophet Mohammed's uncle. Hasankeyf has survived nine major civilisations, stretching from the Assyrians through to the Ottomans. Each has added its own cultural layer. Archaeologists have only begun to scratch the surface of what lies buried at Hasankeyf. To the Turks, Hasankeyf represents Kurdish culture, therefore must be destroyed. Having survived 10,000 years, is Hasankeyf to be destroyed by the thugs of Ataturk?

The Ilisu Dam is part of the South East Anatolia Project (GAP), with GW generating capacity. The Ilisu Dam alone will generate 1200 MW. Ostensibly GAP is to bring development to the region, in reality it is a crude attempt to control the Kurds. To date GAP has displaced, without compensation, 100,000 people. There has been no consultation with the people who are to be displaced, no proper social studies, anyone who dares to protest or object is subject to arbitrary arrest and torture. Many villagers have been evicted at gunpoint, their houses razed to the ground.

When environmentalist Nicholas Hildyard and three human rights lawyers visited the area they were followed everywhere they went. People they spoke to were taken away for questioning. When the Times reporter Ann Treneman visited the Ilisu region recently she found in just one day she was followed by 41 different men and a tank. When Mathew Chapman visited the area to produce a programme for BBC Radio 5 Live he was shadowed everywhere by the secret police, they would even barge into interviews and demand to know what was being said. These experiences are not unique. Every fact-finding mission to Turkish occupied Kurdistan encounters the same problem of harassment and repression by the forces of the Turkish state.

Were Turkey to follow the example of its more developed Mediterranean and Middle East neighbours, Greece, Cyprus and Israel, they would invest in solar power. Turkey could also invest in wind turbines, as seen at the wind farms not far from the airport on the south east coast of the island of Tenerife. Were Turkey to address large inefficiencies in its supply distribution system, this one measure alone would recover as much power as GAP is expected to deliver. According to the authors of the as-yet unpublished Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the Ilisu Dam, undertaken by Hydro Concepts Engineering of Switzerland, no supply-side or demand-side alternatives to the dam were considered as part of the original feasibility studies undertaken for the project by the Turkish authorities. Were Turkey to follow a soft energy path it would be lessening its dependence on electricity and GAP would not be required.

The World Bank, which itself has a very poor environmental track record, has refused to support the Ilisu Dam on environmental grounds.

Turkey dumps untreated sewage straight into the Tigris. The Ilisu Dam will only lead to a worsening of the pollution. The upstream reservoir will introduce water-borne disease such as malaria to the region.

The Ilisu Dam will prevent seasonal flooding downstream of the dam wrecking the ecosystem and destroying traditional agriculture that has depended on the floods for millennia.

According to Berne Declaration 'Ilisu appears to violate five binding World Bank policies ... on 18 counts.'

Balfour Beatty is the lead contractor in the international consortium proposing to construct the Ilisu Dam. Financial backing is coming from Austria, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, UK and US to the sum of around $850 million.

Balfour Beatty will be backed by the British taxpayer to the tune of £200 million. This is one of the ways in which taxpayer's money is transferred to large corporations.

No stranger to scandal, Balfour Beatty was the lead contractor in the Malaysian Pergau Dam. An environmental, financial and political disaster. UK taxpayer's money was used to finance a non-viable dam, the money channelled back to purchase arms from UK defence contractors. Balfour Beatty are being prosecuted in Lesotho for alleged bribery and corruption relating to contracts for another dam project. In the US, Balfour Beatty has been raided by the FBI for fraud.

A small blow for justice was struck when protesters disrupted and shut down the Balfour Beatty May 2000 AGM.

    I WAS THERE WHERE WERE YOU?

The UK is a major supplier of arms to Turkey. The UK has turned a convenient blind eye to human rights abuses in Turkey (Turkey has one of the world's worst human rights records), the war of genocide against the Kurds in Turkish occupied Kurdistan and the continued occupation of northern Cyprus (even though UK is a guarantor of the independence of Cyprus).

In backing the Ilisu Dam, the UK government is in breach of its own environmental and ethical policy guide lines. An ethical foreign policy that has been examined and found lacking. The UK is also in breach of OECD guide lines for such investments.

Following pressure from environmentalists, the UK Department of Industry has conducted an environmental impact assessment. The conclusions have proved too damning and the DTI has commissioned a second study. FoE is contemplating a legal challenge to force the DTI to release the original report.

UK support for the Ilisu Dam has been condemned by two Parliamentary Select Committees - Trade and Industry (March 2000), International Development (July 2000).

Turkey is rated as high risk for investment. On an international scale of 0-100, Turkey rates 38.6, lower than India, Mexico, Brazil or the Philippines.

The Ilisu Dam violates World Bank guidelines, violates OECD resettlement guidelines, and contravenes the core principles of the 1997 UN Convention on the Non-Navigational Uses of Transboundary Waterways.

Please follow link below to see all the protests from almost 20 years ago:

http://www.heureka.clara.net/sunrise/trhols02.htm

For the last 20 years very little has been done to prevent the building of the dam and all the destruction :((

    WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO PROTECT HASANKEYF?
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Re: 28 April SAVE Hasankeyf: dam will ONLY last 50 years

PostAuthor: Anthea » Fri Apr 27, 2018 6:35 pm

FOR 20 YEARS WE HAVE STRUGGLED TO SAVE HASANKEYF

20 years ago, when Balfour Beatty and England itself were involved the protests here were widespread

TV programs
TV news items
Newspaper articles
Many protests
English people, alongside Kurds from all parts of Kurdistan, joined together to save Hasankeyf
TV stars, politicians, actors, comedians, people from all walks of life

WE STOPPED ENGLAND'S INVOLVEMENT

People protested when ISIS destroyed places such as Palmyra

What Turkey is doing is far worse

Hasankeyf is on KURDISH land

Kurds should have stopped any of the construction from ever taking place

The terrible truth is:

KURDS ARE WORSE THAN ISIS

Kurds have ALLOWED the building of the Ilisu at Hasankeyf

Allowed the construction of a dam that will destroy vast areas of flora and fauna found nowhere else on earth

Allowed the construction of a dam that will destroy antiquity that has yet to be investigated

This dam is destroying:

12,000 YEARS OF HISTORY

This dam has a life expectancy of:

ONLY 50 to 70 YEARS
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Re: 28 April SAVE Hasankeyf: dam will ONLY last 50 years

PostAuthor: Anthea » Fri Apr 27, 2018 7:03 pm

Take a last look at Hasankeyf in Spring :((

See the grasses and flowers in the wonderful colours of Kurdistan

Please click on photo to enlarge
926

SAVE HASANKEYF FOR THE CHILDREN
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Re: 28 April SAVE Hasankeyf: dam will ONLY last 50 years

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sun Apr 29, 2018 12:49 pm

Saving Hasankeyf and Sur is everyone’s duty

A tent was set up in Stockholm to rise awareness and expose the destruction plans by Erdogan’s government

Within the scope of Global Action Day for Sur and Hasankeyf on Saturday, Swedish and Kurdish civil society organisation have set up a tent in Medborgarplatsen Square in Stockholm.

A photograph exhibition was put up in the tent, showing the extent of the destruction the Turkish government has already carried out both in Sur and Hasankeyf. Hundreds of signatures were collected calling to rescue the two historical and cultural site.

Deputy Mayor of Stockholm, Ann-Margatrethe Livh, said she has visited "Hasankeyf several times and participated at many demonstrations to call for the site to be saved. The flooding of Hasankeyf is a betrayal of world heritage”.

Reminding that Hasankeyf is part of Unesco's World Cultural Heritage, Livh said: “Wiping out Hasankeyf is something unforgivable. But unfortunately the outside world is pretty quiet about that.

It is very gratifying to see so many people participating to this action today. We need to protest loudly, everywhere. Hasankeyf is a common heritage not only of Kurds but of all people. For this reason, the whole world must stand against the destruction of Hasankeyf".

Livih said that the European Union should issue sanctions to the Turkish state for the destruction of historical sites.

Former Swedish Left Party Political Secretary, Hans Arvidsson, said that Hasankeyf is the heritage of the whole world not just of Kurdistan.

Arvidsson said he had brought Hasankeyf many times on the parliamentary agenda when he was working as Political Secretary, presenting motions.

He said Hasankeyf is important for at least for reasons: ”First, is the cultural heritage of the whole world. Second, there will be a big dam there that will damage the people living along the river and in the surrounding areas. Third, people who have lived in this region for thousands of years will be driven from their lands. Fourth, the Turkish state will take control of water resources and will be able to cut off water whenever it wants, affecting Iraq as well. Water is very important not only for the Kurds but for Arabs and Iraq”.

"The European Union should take a stand against it" said Arvidsson.

PYD Co-Chair Şeyho Hassan, was at the action in Sweden and visited the tent expressing his support to the demonstration and signature campaign.
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Re: 28 April SAVE Hasankeyf: dam will ONLY last 50 years

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sun Apr 29, 2018 12:52 pm

People on the streets for Hasankeyf and Sur

Appeals to save the two ancient heritage sites come from all over the world

Saturday 28 April had been chosen by ecologist and civil society organisations as the Global Day of Action for the survival of Sur and Hasankeyf.

People from all over the world joined the demonstrations and organised different and creative actions.

In Istanbul people gathered in Galatasaray Square calling for an end to this policy of eradication of culture and history. Life and environment defenders asked to end what they defined a “political, historical and cultural crime” and said “it is not too late to save Sur and Hasankeyf”.

The Global Action Day was organised by Mesopotamia Ecology Movement, the No Destruction Platform from Sur, Solidarity with Sur Platform, Hasankeyf Volunteers, Hasankeyf Survival Initiative, Munzur Environmental Association, Defense of the Norther Forests.

They all gathered under the slogan “Give Sur and Hasankeyf a voice” and carried banners and photographs of the two places.

Zeynep Tanbay, a member of the Solidarity Platform with Sur, read the joint press statement on behalf of the environment and life defenders.

Emphasizing that centuries old Sur and Hasankeyf faced the danger of extinction, Tanbay pointed out that these two cultural and natural heritage sites located on the shore of the Dicle River are subjected to a multidimensional devastation impossible to compensate for economic and political interests.

Describing the historical and cultural meanings of Sur and Hasankeyf, Tambay describes the history of Sur, which houses very ancient settlements, as old as 7500 years and was recognized as World Cultural Heritage.

Stressing that Sur has been preserved throughout 33 civilisations in history, has undergone a great destruction in the 21st century, Tanbay said that the aim of this was to erase the history and culture of the place. Tanbay also said that now the government wants to destroy the social memory, solidarity, socialization and historical identity of Sur, something which had been preserved for 10 thousand years. “They want to turn Sur into a city without soul, where only commercial-religious and tourist activities are made”, she said.

Tanbay noted that these problems would not be solved if the people or Sur are not returned their houses and neighborhoods: the city, she said, “must be returned to their legitimate residents”.

Speaking about Hasankeyf's 12,000-year old history, Tanbay pointed out that the Ilisu Dam and HEPP projects, which have been on the agenda for 21 years, will mean that Hasankeyf is doomed to be flooded.

Hasankeyf, with its more than 20 oriental and western civilizations and cultural traces, is a unique cultural heritage unlike any other in the world.

Finally, Zeynep Tanbay called on artists, intellectuals and writers, NGOs, political parties and trade unions, and especially the United Nations (UN), the European Union (EU) and relevant international organizations, to act now for Sur and Hasankeyf.
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Re: 12,000 year old Hasankeyf dam will only last 50 YEARS

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sun Apr 29, 2018 1:04 pm

It is terrible when groups such as the Islamic State destroy historic sites and monuments

And much is written about ISIS destruction of those sites - ISIS is condemned for the destruction of Islamic heritage

Yet Turkey is about to destroy the MOST important historical site in the ENTIRE WORLD

A site that is MANY THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLDER than anything ISIS has destroyed

And NOBODY is stopping this from happening

A message to the Kurds:

When your children and grandchildren ask you

"Why are there so few ancient sites in Kurdistan?"

I hope you will feel proud when you answer

"I was too busy watching Turkish TV to stop the destruction of Hasankeyf*

WHERE IS KURDISH PRIDE ? ? ?

Hasankeyf is a city located in Batman province. The city of Batman has been built on the either side of Tigris TEN THOUSAND YEARS AGO. The Ayobians once controlled the city. It was also attacked by Mongolians and many historical and archaeological sites were destroyed.

Turkey is about to submerge a historical city and destroy the habitat of thousands of birds, plants, trees and animals :((

WHERE IS KURDISH PRIDE ? ? ?
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Re: 12,000 year old Hasankeyf dam will only last 50 YEARS

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sun Apr 29, 2018 1:10 pm

My praises go to the lovely Estelle from the Peace in Kurdistan Campaign :ymapplause:

Estelle has dedicated a great many years working on behalf of Kurds and was the driving force behind the original campaign to save Hasankeyf
:ymhug:
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Re: 12,000 year old Hasankeyf dam will only last 50 YEARS

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sun Apr 29, 2018 10:30 pm

30 cities join Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day

Around 30 cities worldwide participated in the Global Day of Action for Sur and Hasankeyf

As part of the Global Sur and Hasankeyf Action Day in almost 30 cities actions have been organized on April 28, 2018. Activists and civil organization raised awareness on the ongoing destruction of the two antique cities Sur and Hasankeyf at the Tigris River in North (Turkish) Kurdistan. In the last years Sur and Hasankeyf have become synonyms for the repressive and exploitative policy of the Turkish government against nature, culture und people.

The 12.000 years old town Hasankeyf and the surrounding Tigris Valley are threatened by the Mega-Dam Ilisu Dam in construction which is one of the most controversial dam projects in the world nowadays. It would destroy the livelihoods of up to 80.000 people in North Kurdistan and probably much more in Syria and particularly in Iraq.

Sur is the old town of Diyarbakir which has been attacked brutally by the Turkish government with military after the war in Kurdistan has restarted in summer 2015. Although part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Diyarbakir the state destroyed systematically half of Sur, 23.000 people have been displaced and a culture of thousands of years eliminated.

On the morning of April 28 dozens of activists, displaced people, NGO representatives, artists, oppositional politicians gathered in front of the Big Mosque (Ulucami). Surrounded by police they did a statement against the ongoing destruction which has been decribed as the implementation of a long expressed aim to gentrificate and to change the demography of Sur. The stop of the destruction and a new approach with the return of displaced people to their neighborhoods has requested in speeches. The action day continued in a courtyard of a traditional Diyarbakir house in the non destroyed part of Sur.

At the same time dozens of activists, displaced people, NGO representatives and oppositional politicians from Hasankeyf and Batman gathered in the city of Hasankeyf. In their statements they criticized the ongoing destruction in the city since summer 2017 and emphasized that the resistance will continue although the dam construction has proceeded. The Ilisu Project is not wanted by the big majority of the society which will have no benefits from that project. Rather it should be aimed to consider the Tigris River as a heritage and a medium for peace between the people of the whole basin.

In the two antique cities, which have been inhabited continuously, it was stated that the current policy is a cultural genocide. As Sur and Hasankeyf are world heritage sites, worldwide the democratic organizations and people should raise awareness on them and act against the destruction on international level.

Apart from Sur and Hasankeyf actions have been carried out also in the cities of Urfa, Van, İstanbul, İzmir, Ankara ve Antalya which is an expression of solidarity in the broader society.

On international level in total in more than 20 cities actions have been realized of which Germany was leading with ten cities. The actions had a diversity from manifestations, information desk, picture exhibitions to film screenings and discussions. In these actions the relationship to global neoliberal and war policies has been set and the own governments as well as international organizations like EU, UN and UNESCO have been criticized heavily. Thousands of people have been contacted and informed in the following cities: Athens, Bilbao, Barcelona, Ribes (Catalonia) Madrid, Martigues (France), Brighton (UK), Londra, Stockholm, Vienna, Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover, Bremen, Celle, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Regensburg, München. Additionally in several Swiss cities at the May 1 rallies flyers will be distributed and speeches held.

One of the most important participation to the action day was from Iran. On April 25 and 27 in two cities discussions and manifestations have been organized by groups which have been in contact with some of the calling organizations for years. In Iran is a certain knowledge on the Ilisu Dam and its larger impacts which spread until the South of Iran. In 2017 was a strong petition to the UN which 150.000 people have signed.

Do not allow to destroy settlements and nature, lets defend common history, nature and culture!

In social media via the following two tags information and pictures have been shared:

#SurveHasankeyfeSesOl and #SurHasankeyf2018
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Re: 12,000 year old Hasankeyf dam will only last 50 YEARS

PostAuthor: Anthea » Sun Apr 29, 2018 10:47 pm

This is the ONLY photo of the London
campaign that I have found :shock: X( :((


Please click on photo to enlarge:
927
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