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18 May 2000 Stalled? - Or just playing for time? A response to the Guardian's article of 17 May 2000
Some of you may have seen the recent article in the Guardian, headlined 'UK's £200m aid for Turkish dam stalled' - and wondered whether this meant the government wouldn't be going ahead with its support for the Ilisu dam after all.Well, the answer is - the government has not pulled out of the project yet, and may still not do so.
The real issue is whether the Turkish government will meet the UK government's conditions for support. Those conditions include:
- Turkey's consultation with downstream countries Syria and Iraq;
- an adequate resettlement plan for the 25,000 displaced and 11,000 affected people;
- a plan to preserve some of the archaeological heritage of the ancient town of Hasankeyf;
- measures to address water quality.
There has been some change in the government's position, however, in that for the first time it has acknowledged that to ensure compliance with international law, Turkey must been seen to have talked to its downstream neighbours. The exact quote (from the government's 16th May response to a critical report by the Trade and Industry Select Committee) is:
"The Government recognises the importance of ensuring compliance with international legal requirements, and notes the [Select] Committee's recommendation for handling the issue and agrees that there should be a published assurance that the required consultation of neighbouring States has been carried out by the Turkish authorities."
This is the potential sticking point, for as Friends of the Earth (in its press release - see below) quite rightly points out, the Turkish government has been unwilling to talk to Syria and Iraq on this issue. It is this aspect that makes it unlikely that the government will be able to give the go-ahead for support for Ilisu.
Of course, this is not to mention the extremely remote possibility that the Turkish government will be willing to agree to and implement the other conditions for the go-ahead, especially on resettlement.
However the fact remains that the government is continuing to say that if and when the four conditions are met, it will go ahead with its support for the Ilisu Dam.
The Ilisu Dam Campaign believes that there are such grave doubts surrounding this project that the government should withdraw its support now and not remain embroiled in a project with such devastating social and environmental implications.
It is clear that the government is beginning to recognise our legitimate concerns about this project. So it is more important now than ever before to step up the pressure on the government and demonstrate what a wave of public feeling there is against UK involvement in this dam.
Friends of the Earth's press release, 16.5.2000:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DAMMED IF WE DO, GREEN IF WE DON'T
The Government's response to a Parliamentary investigation into British involvement with the controversial Ilisu dam in Turkey (1) suggests that British companies will not gain official support for building the huge barrage across the river Tigris, according to Friends of the Earth.
The Government says that approval of support for the dam will depend on Turkey agreeing, and enforcing, demanding conditions and consulting with downstream countries. On both counts Turkey has failed to indicate that it is willing to shift its position in respect of properly compensating local Kurdish people and, according to a legal opinion commissioned by Friends of the Earth, is already in breach of international law for not consulting downstream states (Syria and Iraq) about the proposed dam.
Tony Juniper, Policy & Campaigns Director of Friends of the Earth, said: "The Government has got itself into a very tricky situation. On the one hand it wishes to present its policies as supporting environmental protection and human rights, whilst on the other promoting British companies' interests overseas. The problem is that they can't do both without proper standards and procedures to decide which companies and which projects merit official assistance. They have no such standards or procedures and as a result support for this dam will cause tremendous political damage."
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] Government observations on the 6th report from the Trade and Industry Committee (session 1999-2000), published today, 16 May 2000.
Contact: Tony Juniper 077 12843 207 (mobile)
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