Hasankeyf Coordination: Appointment of Trustee Directly Related with Ilısu Dam

Underlining that the recent appointment of a trustee to Batman Municipality is directly related with Ilısu Dam and hydroelectric power plant project, Hasankeyf Coordination says, “The destruction ensuing previous appointment of trustees is an indication of that.”

İstanbul

Hasankeyf Coordination: Appointment of Trustee Directly Related with Ilısu Dam

* Photo: Anadolu Agency (AA) - Archive

Click to read the article in Turkish / Kurdish

Hasankeyf Coordination has released a written statement regarding the appointment of a trustee to the Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) Batman Provincial Municipality. The Coordination has underlined that this appointment is directly related with the Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant project, which will soon engulf the ancient city of Hasankeyf.

CLICK - Trustees Appointed to 8 HDP Municipalities

The Coordination has briefly stated the following:

"HDP's Batman Co-Chairs were raising concerns over not only the aggravation of socio-economic problems following the unprepared arrival of tens of thousands of people forced to emigrate due to Ilısu Dam in Batman province and over the destruction of a 12,000-year universal heritage, but they we were also attracting attention to a different dimension of the destruction to be caused by Ilısu Dam.

"The waste water flowing to dam reservoir is now undergoing only a preliminary treatment and the lack of any biological treatment is posing a serious risk to public health. If we add the waste water coming from industrial-chemical and irrigation-based agriculture and the waste water not subjected to any treatment, the risk is increasing further.

'Revoke appointment of trustees'

"It is apparent that the unlawful appointment of trustee is directly related with Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant project. The destruction ensuing previous appointment of trustees is an indication of that.

"The trustee was appointed in less than 12 hours after the Batman Municipality decided to postpone payment of water bills, which shows that the mindset of a civic/revolutionary municipality and the trustee policy have come up against each other on the issue of water right, too. The appointment of a trustee is also an attack on people's right to access free water in these outbreak conditions. The government keeps pursuing its policies against water rights even under these circumstances.

"We, as Hasankeyf Coordination, request that the appointment of trustees be revoked immediately, the water retention in Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant be stopped urgently and the free flow of water be allowed by opening the dam gates in a controlled manner."

A summary of Ilısu Dam Project by life defenders

In a statement in June 2019, life defenders shared following summary information about the ancient city of Hasankeyf threatened by Ilısu Dam:

"Ilısu Project is a project that will bring wrongs and destruction from the beginning to end. The official claim that 'the project will bring socio-economic benefits to the local community' is an utter deception.

"This project will not only engulf important cultural heritage in Upper Mesopotamia, especially Hasankeyf, but it will also lead around 80 thousand people into poverty and destruction of Tigris Basin, which is still biodiversifically rich.

"A dramatic fall in the amount of water to the UNESCO site of Mesopotamian Marshes is the most significant risk to be caused by this dam project.

"As it was experienced and seen before with other dam projects undertaken in the region, the Ilısu Dam Project will bring about social, economic, cultural and ecological destruction.

"Hasankeyf, which is a cultural and natural heritage site integrated with Tigris River, has been subjected to irreversible and multidimensional destruction as a result of securitizing and baseless economic interests.

"The filling of Ilısu Dam reservoir is wanted to be used as a justification for displacement and migration. When the filling of the dam starts, the natural ecosystem of Tigris River will be harmed along hundreds of kilometers."

(EMK/SD)