Signature campaign for Hasankeyf

Under the slogan “Hasankeyf is our culture, Tigris our nature” people from Hasankeyf, Iraq, Rojava and nine European countries called for the Turkish government not to start filling the Ilisu Dam reservoir, as was announced for 10th June, 2019.

On 11 June a petion was launched in English against the Ilisu Dam, aimed at the Turkish government. 

The text is based on the call made by the Keep Hasankeyf Alive and Mesopotamia Ecology Movement on 15 May, which was signed by 121 organizations so far.

The petion can be signed here 

Following the call to join the 3rd Global Days of Action for Hasankeyf on 7 and 8 June, protest actions were carried out in in 35 cities against the destructive and controversial Ilisu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant Project.

Under the slogan “Hasankeyf is our culture, Tigris our nature” people from Hasankeyf, Iraq, Rojava and nine European countries called for the Turkish government not to start filling the Ilisu Dam reservoir, as was announced for 10th June, 2019.

Indeed, just two days after the 3rd Global Days of Action for Hasankeyf, on 10th June 2019, the news spread that the filling of the Ilisu Dam reservoir has been postponed. The responsible state agency DSI (State Hydraulic Works) declared to several media agencies that due to high river flow at the Ilisu dam site and uncompleted construction work in Hasankeyf and for roads in the affected region, the filling would be done later, probably in July. 

On the noon of 7th June, in several European cities, such as Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Freiburg, and Ljubljana, activists joined the viral FridaysForFuture actions, bringingdiscussions about how large dams like the Ilisu contribute to the climate crisis. Afterwards, actions were carried out in two dozen cities.

In Iraq, actions against the Ilisu Dam and for Hasankeyf and the Tigris river took place in ten cities, from Sulaymaniyah to Basra, on the evening of 7thJune. This high level of participation shows a strong awareness about the crisis of the destruction of nature and the need to struggle against destructive projects from the grassroots.