10.01.2013 18:30
The 14th Chamber of the Council of State issued a stay of execution on Monday for the construction of the Ilısu Dam, which is planned to be built in the southeastern province of Batman.
The 14th Chamber of the Council of State issued a stay of execution on Monday for the construction of the Ilısu Dam, which is planned to be built in the southeastern province of Batman.
The Council of State ruled against the construction of the dam following a lawsuit filed by the Turkish Union of Engineers and Architects' Chambers (TMMOB) which claimed that the construction of the dam would be exempted from an environmental impact report (ÇED). According to the union, the dam was added to the region's investment plans before the ÇED regulation went into effect in 1993. In an effort to exempt the Ilısu Dam from a ÇED, the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning added an exceptional clause to the regulation which was not welcomed by the TMMOB members, urging them to file a lawsuit.
The council stated in its ruling that the dam project was against ÇED regulations because, when completed, the Ilısu Dam on the Tigris River will leave the ancient site of Hasankeyf, located in the Dicle Valley, under water.
Hasankeyf, a first-degree protected historic site, is the only place in the world that meets nine out of the 10 criteria to be included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, according to respected scientists. The construction of the dam will also endanger the masterpieces of Islamic history between the 12th and 15th centuries, which include the Hasankeyf Bridge, the largest of its kind from the period, and the Ayyubid Sultan Süleyman Mosque as well as many other historic mosques, complexes, gravesites, tombs and hamams.
Although the Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning added an exceptional clause to the ÇED regulation on April 14, 2011, in an effort to remove any potential obstacles in the construction of the Ilısu Dam, its construction is currently blocked by the Council of State ruling. The Ilısu Dam is one of the three main components of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), which is the largest water and hydroelectric project in the history of the republic. With the completion of the building of dams and water canals, the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers will be directed to different parts of the region for irrigation.
(Cihan/Today's Zaman)