Save Hasankeyf

Stop Ilisu dam project!

Flood as means of counterinsurgency
The Turkish state wants to flood a large area of Kurdistan - the valley of Hasankeyf. Thousands of inhabitants will be forced to leave their homes, and huge historic sites will be destroyed for ever. The economic benefit of the project is little, but the fascist government of Turky is doing everything possible to destroy Kurdish identity.

The Siemens owned VA Tech, Züblin und Co. is willing to build the dam. In the next days the German government will decide whether it will financially support this horrible project.
Join the fax campaign!

Send emails and faxes to protest the Ilisu dam.

Demand from the turkish responsables that they stop the project because it will result in many social, ecological and cultural loss and will have very negligible benefits.

Turkish Prime Minister R.T. Erdogan: bimer@basbakanlik.gov.tr

Turkish Minister for Energy and natural ressources: bilgi@enerji.gov.tr

DSI (Turkish State Water/Hydrology Agency): eroglu@dsi.gov.tr (General Director)

Turkish leader company Nurol:
nurolinsaat@nurol.com.tr; yunus.bayraktar@nurol.com.tr (Project Coordinator)

Demand from the european governments that they should not gove loan security for this destructive project. They have to act after their own social and human right criterias:

German Government:
bundeskanzler@bundeskanzler.de (German Councellor Mrs Merkel)
Fax: 0049-30 4000 1843 (if it doesnt work: 0049-30 4000 2357)

Austrian Government:
wolfgang.schuessel@bka.gv.at (Austrian Chancellor Dr. Schüssel)
karl-heinz.grasser@bmf.gv.at (Austrian Finance Minister Grasser)
Fax: 0043-153 115 4274

Swiss Government (Federal Councellors Mrs. Leuthard and Mrs. Calmy-Rey):
micheline.calmy-rey@gs-eda.admin.ch
Doris.leuthard@gs-evd.admin.ch and generalsekretaer@eda.admin.ch
Fax: 0041-31 322 59 94

Foreign Companies leader Andritz (VA Tech):
wolfgang.leitner@andritz.com and alexander.schwab@vatech-hydro.at

Background:

In the context of a "development project" for Southeast Turkey (GAP), the construction of another large dam is planned: the Ilisu dam. After some companies and banks withdrew from the project in 2001 due to massive social and environmental concerns, another attempt is being made to push ahead the disastrous project.

The most severe expected impacts of the dam include:

Disastrous environmental impacts in the region.

• The destruction of flood-plains and habitat for endangered animals and plants
• A massive fish die-off

• Sedimentation and eutrophication

Also the people living in the region as well in downstream riparian states face tremendous direct impacts:

• Evictions without proper rehabilitation and resettlement
• Human Rights violations
• Severe decrease in water quality
• An increase of water-born diseases like malaria
• Aggravation of the already existing water conflicts in the region, especially between Turkey and its neighboring states

Furthermore the city of Hasankeyf, a central cultural asset for Turkey and a symbol of human civilization, will disappear in the Ilisu floods forever.

It is obvious that the construction of the dam would lead to devastating ecological and social problems due to major deficiencies in the planning and designing of the project. Still, corporations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland plan to participate in the project, for which they have applied for Export Credit Guarantees.