Demonstrations Staged for Hasankeyf, Sur in 30 Cities Across World

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Demonstrations were staged on April 28, 2018 in seven provinces in Turkey and at least 20 places across the world for preservation of Sur and Hasankeyf, which are located at Tigris river, within the scope of “April 28 Global Demonstration Day for Sur and Hasankeyf”.

These two important antique sites were brought to agenda by means of the demonstrations. “Sur and Hasankeyf have become symbols of Turkish government’s merciless policies against nature, culture and people”, the protesters said.

Statement in Hasankeyf

The joint statement issued by the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive read, “A significant part of 12 thousand-year-old Hasankeyf and Dicle Valley have been attempted to be buried under the Ilısu Dam, which has been trying to be constructed for 20 years. Life resources of people of Syria and Iraq as well as us will be taken away whereas it should have conduced towards peace”.

İstanbul

The greatest participation is in Germany

Frankfurt

Center of the demonstrations staged outside of Turkey was the European cities.

A large number of activists and groups organized meetings, stands, exhibitions, film screenings and panel in 10 cities in Germany. In the events where neoliberal and war policies were drawn attention to, inertia of the international institutions including the EU, UNESCO and UN were criticized.

Barcelona

The cities where demonstrations were staged were: Athens, Bilbao, Barcelona, Ribes, Madrid, Martigues, Brighton, London, Stockholm, Berlin, Hamburg, Hannover, Bremen, Celle, Frankfurt, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Regensburg, Munich. In addition to that, leaflets regarding Sur and Hasankeyf will be distributed in Switzerland on May 1.

France

Special attention by activists from Iran

Iran

One of the largest participations took place in Iran. Solidarity events were held on April 25 and 27. As many as 150 thousand people had launched petition in Iran in protest of Ilısu Dam. (PT/TK)