Rocks in the Hasankeyf ancient town which will be submerged in the waters of the Ilısu Dam to be built in Batman have been detonated with dynamite because there will be filling efforts.

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Batman MP Mehmet Ali Aslan has chained himself to a rock in Hasankeyf today in protest at the AKP government’s attacks targeting the cultural and natural heritage of the ancient town.

The recently initiated demolition is considered to be a phase in the horrific insistence of the AKP government on the Ilısu Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant project that will submerge the ancient town.

The nearly 6 thousand caves around the antique town are one of the first sites of human settlement. Civilized life in the antique town of Hasankeyf dates back to 8th century B.C. and the drawings inside the caves scattered around the town shed light on different periods, cultures and architectures of humanity.

Since the construction for the dam body started in 2010, square kilometers of land have been demolished and the first serious step towards the demolition reaching its current stage was the covering of the piers of the historic bridge in Hasankeyf with stones

The Zeynel Bey Tomb being transported away on May 12, 2017 pushed the demolition to the next level and an irreversible process swiftly started in Hasankeyf.

In a recent interview to ANF, Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive activist Ercan Ayboğa stated that the AKP and previous governments looked at the Ilısu Project strategically from many aspects, including economical and political, and that they did not care about a history and cultural heritage of 10.000 years.

Ayboğa stated that fighting for Hasankeyf has been rendered impossible under State of Emergency conditions and added: “They also want to take full advantage of the current war and State of Emergency conditions to this end. Holding a march for Hasankeyf today under the very intense political pressures has become impossible. But this dam project had been halted three times between 2013 and 2015. The Republic of Turkey is one of the states that does the most destruction against humanity and nature under the guise of development in the world today. No cultural value, natural wealth and mass protests can turn this state away from their projects that cause destruction and exploitation that favors a very narrow group.”

Ayboğa pointed out that the fires in Dersim and the demolition in Hasankeyf is an expression of the state’s desire to use all areas within their borders for economic profiteering when they get the chance, and pointed out that the countless dams, hydroelectric power plants and dams in the Black Sea region are the products of similar policies.

According to Ayboğa, the state enacts these projects faster in the Kurdish regions through the current militarisation and mechanisms of oppression.