 |
 |
ILISU DAM CAMPAIGN URGENT ACTION AND UPDATE
On 28th October the Sunday Times published a story reporting on cynical attempts by Tony Blair to use the Ilisu Dam as a bargaining tool to ensure Turkish support.
SUNDAY TIMES
"TONY BLAIR is pushing his ministers to find reasons to approve export credit guarantees for a controversial multi-million-pound dam in Turkey" "Blair is understood to see the building of the 1.25 billion Ilisu dam as vital for good relations between Turkey and Britain and is dismayed at the way environmental campaigners have dominated the debate about the project" "Insiders say the prime minister's view has sharpened in recent weeks because of the need to secure Turkey's support for the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. Turkey's airbases could become vital if the war against terrorism is expanded to include Iraq, and Blair believes that any future UN peacekeeping force in Afghanistan would be greatly strengthened by Muslim Turkish troops."(Sunday Times, 28/10/01 Blair in drive for Turkish Dam Deal)
EVENING STANDARD
"...the leaked word is that the Ilisu deal must be done hurriedly to secure Turkish loyalty lest its air bases are needed for air strikes on Iraq. However, since the Turks have shown no wobbliness so far, this smells like an attempt to use the war as a catch-all excuse for getting away with stunts that couldn't be pulled in peace. Mr Blair's messianic rhetoric about creating a new world order takes on an intriguing flavour when juxtaposed with his eagerness to collude in an act of cynical vandalism against the already poor and oppressed. If he is planning to slip this one through while no one is looking, let's hope he is in for a shock"(Evening Standard 1/11/01 Matthew Norman).
Please help put pressure on Mr Blair by phoning or writing to your MP and urging them to condemn this piece of squalid opportunism. The Ilisu Dam should not be used as a geostrategic pawn
The fastest way to contact your MP is via the Friends of the Earth link below, which allows you to send an instant email, or print off a letter to send. http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/corporates/press_for_change/mp/
Or, if you would prefer to write your own letter:
To write to your MP: address your letter to your MP at
House of Commons,
London,
SW1A 0AA.Please copy your message to Tony Blair
(10 Downing Street, London SW1A 2AA).
To telephone your MP's office at the House of Commons, telephone the switchboard (020 7219 3000) and ask to be transferred to the appropriate office. Or contact your MP at his/her local constituency office.