Protest in Vatican: Save Ancient City of Hasankeyf, Stop Ilısu Dam

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The members of Armanç Kerboranî Good Wishes Group staged an art performance in Vatican on July 27 and protested the Ilısu Dam project, which is about to engulf the 12,000-year ancient city of Hasankeyf. The protest was also attended by artist and journalist Zehra Doğan.

CLICK - Beginning of the End for Hasankeyf: Tests for Filling Dam Reservoir Start

The group previously organized similar protests under the Pyramid in front of Louvre Museum in Paris and in front of the Ishtar Gate in Pergamon Museum in Berlin. The group staged the below performance in Vatican:

'It is home to sacred sites and places of worship'

Underlining that the city of Hasankeyf, which is built on the banks of the Tigris River and embodies 12,000 years of human history, the Armanç Kerboranî Good Wishes Group expressed the cultural and historical significance of Hasankeyf briefly as follows:

"Hasankeyf is home to hundreds of sacred sites and places of worship for Yezidis, Jews, Zoroastrians, Christians and Muslims, testifying to the rich cultural inheritance that this city represents for humanity.

"Cliffs around the city are spotted with ancient caves that housed churches where some of the first Christians in the world gathered to worship, singing in Aramaic, the language of Jesus Christ. Witnesses to this history, the cave walls are engraved with some of the earliest Christian crosses. In the echoes of these caves, one can imagine that they hear the chants even today.

'Hasankeyf is in danger'

"Right now, the city of Hasankeyf is in danger. Although it is not currently recognized by UNESCO, the city is a valuable site of world heritage. If we do nothing, the city and its fertile lands will be flooded by the waters of the Ilisu dam, planned to operate for fifty years. Is it not ridiculous, that millennia of history will be swallowed up?

"In coming to the Vatican, we challenge UNESCO, the institutions and the public to stand against this act of cultural genocide. The city of Hasankeyf is an ancient universal heritage. She welcomed us, cradled us and nurtured our beliefs and our shared humanity. Today, whatever our creed, she is heritage to us all. We cannot stay silent and fail to act in the face of her drowning.

"Being aware of this, we take action and cry out to the world. Save 12,000 years old Hasankeyf! Stop Ilısu Dam!" (HA/SD)