Kurdistan Bloggers Union

Or the return of the revenge of Ilisu dam project...



The project of builing Ilisu Dam, which will submerge Hasankey and its valley had been stopped after the desistance of Balfour Beatty in 2002, for a campaign had been orchestrated by many organisations, denouncing the historical, archeological and ecological disaster of a such project.

Then, in spite of his former promises, Turkish Prime Minister wants to restart the project and this time, it seems that the German company Siemens will be involved in that. For Siemens, which has bought the Austrian company VA tech, the only foreign company still remained in the building of dams, has apprently the intention to start the cosntruction this summer.

A campaign of protest has begun against Siemens and VA Tech, with a petition by e-mail, sent to both leaders of these companies. The opponents of Ilisum Dam object that the dam will destroy a beautiful historical site, and that will bring not great benefits, even for Turkey, because the hydro-electric energy produced will be quite weak compared to the needs of the country.
It is rather all the system of distribution in energy, often decayed and ineffective that it is necessary to re-examine in Turkey.

Moreover, the culture by irrigation which the dam would allow, according to the Turkish government, would benefit only the rich owners who want to make Anatolian south-east a vast cotton field. They have already recovered for themselves Kurdish fugitives' goods and properties. But the poorest peasants will win nothing to that : 78.000 of them will be "displaced". Not a ideal way to improve the economic activity of the area and the dramatic rate of unemployment in the Kurdish country. The government, of course, made promises of reinstalment and compensation for the moved people, but we could be skeptic, if we consider what did happen after other construction projets.

Friends of Earth start a campaign and ask people to sent protesting mails to Siemems, VA TEch, and your EU MP if you are European.