Ilisu Dam is not just a risk is a real threat, say activists

"Let's fight together for Hasankeyf and the Tigris Valley, let's unite this struggle with other destructive projects on the agenda."

The Hasankeyf Coordination called on people to act now as "the Ilisu Dam threatens millions of creatures as well as Hasankeyf".

The statement by the Hasankeyf Coordination recalled that "The Ilisu Dam and HEPP Project started in 1954 as a state project and is becoming a reality since 23 July 2019. At least 100 endemic and endangered species living in an area of ​​400 kilometers in the Dicle Valley are threatened with disappearing. Likewise Hasankeyf, with its 12 thousand years history and its more than 300 archaeological sites, will disappear. Over 100 thousand people have been displaced."

The filling of the dam has begun although the authorities have said nothing so far. Satellite pictures show the water raising and this concern people living around the area.

Every day with the filling of the dam hundreds of creatures die, said the statement.

The Hasankeyf Coordination underlined that the "Ilısu Dam and HEPP project is no longer a risk for the Antique City and the Tigris Valley, it has become a threat and danger.

The Ilisu Dam and HEPP project should be stopped as soon as possible. A process of democratic reconciliation should be initiated with the local people and all its representatives, and repressice methods should be abandoned."

Call to the public opinion

Hasankeyf Coordination, at the end of the statement made the following call to "all artists, intellectuals, human rights lawyers, political parties, women's and youth organizations and every sensitive person: Let's fight together for Hasankeyf and the Tigris Valley, let's unite this struggle with other destructive projects on the agenda."