Friends of the Earth: Press Release: ILISU DAM: STATEMENT EXPECTED SHORTLY

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ILISU DAM: STATEMENT EXPECTED SHORTLY

02 Jul 2001

A Parliamentary statement is imminent on Government support for the building of the notorious Ilisu Dam in Turkey. Friends of the Earth has been told that the statement could come as early as tomorrow.

The Department of Trade and Industry has now received a report on the impacts of the dam,believed the long-awaited Environmental Impact Assessment. The Observer newspaper thsi Sunday quoted “senior Government sources” as saying that the report made “difficult reading” (“Turkish Dam to Lose UK Support”: Observer, 1.7.2001 p4). This suggests that the Turkish Government and the consortium planning to build the dam - which includes UK firm Balfour Beatty - have been unable to meet conditions previously set by the UK Government.

Balfour Beatty has applied for an export credit guarantee of at least $200 million from the UK Government. Without the guarantee of taxpayers' support, the firm is likely to withdraw from the project. The Ilisu dam would flood 15 towns and 52 villages and displace up to 78,000 Kurdish people, many without adequate compensation. It would destroy the world historic site of Hasankeyf and threaten water conflict with neighbouring states Iraq and Syria.

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH HAS DEMANDED THAT THE GOVERNMENT DROP ANY PLANS TO BACK THE ILISU DAM. WE WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT AROUND THE GOVERNMENT STATEMENT.

Any decision to drop Government support for the dam would be an important victory for the powerful campaign against the Dam, which recently achieved strong support for a resolution on dam-building at Balfour Beatty's AGM. It would also set an important precedent for the Export Credit Guarantee Department, an agency of the DTi. Friends of the Earth believes that this would be the first recorded case where an export credit has been refused on ethical and environmental grounds.

The report of last year's fact finding mission to the Ilisu Dam site can be found at www.khrp.org

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Media team