|
FightING ILISU DAM - SAVE HASANKEYF AND TIGRIS VALLEY |
|
Welcome to the Homepage of the „Initative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive“ |
|
Protest Against Global Dam Conference of IHA (International Hydropower Association) in Antalya/Turkey (29.05.07)
|
|
- Yusufeli Culture Association - Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive - Fools of Munzur - Association for Conservation of Munzur Valley and Natural Life – WEED – International Rivers Network
Media Release
Protest against Global Dams Conference
The gap between what the International Hydropower Association says and what it does is being highlighted by dam threatened people who are protesting at the organization’s annual world congress in Antalya, Turkey. A huge banner declaring “No development, but destruction by many dams in Turkey” greets IHA members outside the convention centre.
“Members of the International Hydropower Association, such as the Austrian company VA Tech (Andritz), pretend here in Antalya that they care about people and the environment,” said Diren Özkan, speaker of the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive. “But in reality, they are building dams in Turkey that will destroy our cultural heritage and displace tens of thousands of people.”
Activists from the Yusufeli Culture Association, the Association for Conservation of Munzur Valley, Fools of Munzur and the Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf have written to the president of the International Hydropower Association, Dr. Dogan Altinbilek, a Turkish national, to demand VA Tech (Andritz), a member of the IHA, to withdraw from the Ilisu project since it violates the IHA’s very own sustainability guidelines. If built, the Ilisu Dam project would destroy Hasankeyf, a 9000-year-old city, and displace up to some 55,000 people from their homes.
In Antalya, the International Hydropower Association will deliberate on issues such as good practice of hydropower development, hydropower and climate change and the social and environmental performance of large dams. “The International Hydropower Association jeopardizes its good name and its credibility by making big public statements about sustainability while supporting their members in building large dams that destroy rivers, forests, fields, archaeological sites and people’s homes,” said Mehmet Bidav from the Association for Conservation of Munzur Valley.
“It is not enough just to talk about best practices for the hydropower industry,” said Ann Kathrin Schneider of International Rivers Network. “The implementation of standards and the reality on the ground matters. We need less talk and more action. Affected people and the environment need to be put centre stage in all decisions related to the construction of dams. This is the only way to avoid the dam disasters of the past and the present.”
|