FightING ILISU DAM - SAVE HASANKEYF AND TIGRIS VALLEY

Welcome to the Homepage of the „Initative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive“

Letter to German Government on 10th January 2007

(similar letter has been sent to austrian and swiss governments)

Textfeld: Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive Contact address: GABB – Union of Southeast Anatolia Region Municipalities Koop. Mah. Gevran Cad. Belediye Konukevi, Yenisehir Diyarbakir/Turkey Tel :+90 (412) 229 67 47; Fax:+90 (412) 224 53 38 http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.org Contact: info@hasankeyfgirisimi.org To: Ministry for Economy and Technology Mr. Michael Glos Federal Republic of Germany Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development Mrs. Heidi Wieczorek-Zeul Federal Republic of Germany Ministry for Foreign Affairs Mr. Frank-Walter Steinmeier Federal Republic of Germany Ministry for Finance Mr. Peter Steinbrück Federal Republic of Germany Copy to: EulerHermes Dr. Hans Janus 10.01.2007 Principle decision on Ilisu project and conditions – letter of concern from 72 regional NGOs, local authorities and affected communities Dear Mr. Glos, Mrs. Wieczorek-Zeul, Mr. Steinmeier and Mr. Steinbrück, we, the 72 member organizations of the Initiative consisting of 26 municipalities, profession organizations, unions, social-cultural and women organizations from the affected region, are deeply disappointed that on 5th December 2006 the German government has taken a positive principle decision for the export credit guarantee of the Ilisu project in South-East Turkey. We appreciated that your government undertook many efforts to assess the project. But the project does not fulfil international conditions and we very much doubt that it ever will. On 14th November Mr. Henckel answered on your behalf our letter from 26th September 2006 in which he considers the project basically possible although the participation of the affected population comes in no way close to what international standards foresee. He writes that the Turkish side has stated its willingness to fulfil additional tasks. However, you do not mention what these tasks are and in which way you believe they will prevent the deterioration of livelihoods of the affected population, environmental destruction and the loss of invaluable cultural goods. We have had a long experience with dam building in our region to know that many promises are made before construction works begin, but nonetheless a great part of the affected people have ended up in poverty. Therefore, we would like to know what the planned improvements (“conditions”) are and would like to be consulted on them. Is there any “new resettlement plan”? As these "improvements" are obviously necessary in order to compensate for deficits in the EIA and RAP, they should be treated as part of EIA and RAP which according to World Bank standards should be published and commented upon by the civil society. Participation in project planning is one of the main international standards which your government has promised to adhere too. However so far, it has not happened. There is no seroius and satisfied information given by the government, DSI or Ilisu consortium to the different NGOs and profession organizations. Only one time the consortium and DSI did a meeting in Diyarbakir, Batman, Hasankeyf and Dargecit to which NGOs and the municipalities were invited. In these meetings the consortium asked for direct “help” for implementation of the project, questions to stop or change the design of the Ilisu project were not answered. To claim that participation is done with such a meeting can not be accepted, they do not meet in any way international standards. Although on 1st August 2006 our Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive asked the Prime Minister Erdogan for a meeting to discuss the Ilisu dam project, till today the government did not give any answer to us. That example shows that there is no real effort to start any dialogue. How will you bring the Ilisu project in line with international standards, if at this stage the public and - most importantly - the affected population is denied its right to participate? Besides you the Swiss government also decided to approve principally the Ilisu project. Probably after your positive decisions the Austrian government will take the same decision. In this case it is important to know from you whether the consortium will get the loan for the Ilisu dam and HEPP project directly afterwards. Does the consortium will get the loan from banks directly after all three positive principle decisions? Of which people and organizations consists the monitoring group and how will work it? Will be the determinations of this monitoring group binding and obliging for you? As we heard, for a final decision by your government it will be necessary that Turkey fulfils a part of the whole conditions. If you expect only a quarter or third of whole conditions to be fulfilled for a final decision, will be this enough? For us not! Which conditions are the one to be fulfilled for a final decision? We fear that Turkey will try to fulfil the easier conditions? In the case that Turkey fulfils so many conditions that you give the final approval: How and who will guarantee that Turkey fulfils all conditions? What are your means? If Turkey does not fulfil all conditions after the final approval, what do you plan to do? We therefore ask you to inform us of the content of the negotiated "improvements"! Furthermore you did not answer the vast majority of the questions we posed in our letter of 26.09.2006. In this letter we asked you many questions about your assessing of the Ilisu project. Some of them were: After the EIA and EIA amendments the waste water treatment plants (WWTP) in the bigger cities like Diyarbakir, Batman and Siirt are necessary with three steps before the flooding in order to hinder a deterioration of water quality which can not be improved in this case any more. How do you want to guarantee that? And what do you think to do for the contamination through irrigated agricultural land which will be necessary for a loss of water quality even if there are enough WWTPs in the bigger cities. What about the archaeological sites in the Ilisu dam region? Only in 14 are done excavations? In 275 are done no excavations! What you plan to do for them? As we heard some weeks ago the consortium demanded from the excavation chiefs that they should finish with their works in 5 years. The construction of Ilisu dam will violate (already doing) the Turkish law because the protection of all archaeological sites is still existing. The discussions by the Turkish government to repeal protection are only about Hasankeyf and are not about the other not excavated sites. And as we mentioned there are totally 289 sites. Scarcely anybody from the Ilisu region would like to be resettled to Ceylanpinar, province Sanliurfa, which is far away. The construction of new villages would be investments for nothing because the most people will after resettlement leave these new locations. This happened with resettled people through other dams in our region. The Ilisu dam will create for some years on average direct 2350 jobs and hardly 1500 indirect jobs. On the other hand the Ilisu dam will destroy jobs at least on the same level in long-term in the Ilisu dam region. This expects the chamber of agricultural engineers of Diyarbakir and Batman. One example: Every summer thousands thousands of people from cities work in the big fields of Bismil/Diyarbakir and Besiri/Batman. You know that dam projects will create in long-term a few jobs. Why do you not compare that big loss of employment and livelihood? Why do you not recognize and discuss our proposals for alternative energy and regional develoment? Yes, we know that you will say that you have not the request for that. But in the EIA are no serious and comprehensive altenative discussion. For us your site visit was a farce because you did not recognize that over 80 % of the direct and indirect affected people do not want the Ilisu project. Even if the construction works begin, there will be no support for Ilisu project. The protests will continue till the project will be cancelled! If you continue with your support for the project you will be always confronted that you took part in the destruction of a big cultural heritage, a unique rich ecosystem and the unsocial resettlement of 55.000 people. The history will say that Hermes and the German government is in the same level like the Turkish government responsible for the destruction of life, environment and cultural in upper Mesopotamia! How do you can say to us that it will be better to build the dam with you instead of chinese companies who would have no standards? If you are interested in the welfare and development of our region why do you did not anything till today? For us it is not sincerely from you to say that! And you can not claim that you know better what is good for us? The Chinese companies are our problem. We will not accuse you if they come. And we do not believe that chinese companies will come to Turkey, the government will never can do that. We expect from you that you maintain criterias (OECD/Worldbank) which you developed by yourself. You are violating your own criterias and lossing credibility. Where are your highly written and mentioned values of environment, participation and sustainable development? As a widely supported local initiative that represents without any doubt the vast majority of people who live in the Ilisu region and who will be affected by this German-engineered dam, we call on you again urgently not to give finance guarantee for this highly destructive and problematic project! Kind regards, Ercan Ayboga