Ilisu Dam

   The Ilisu Dam project in Turkey is a highly charged human rights issue involving the Kurds in Turkey and their supporters throughout Western Europe and the world. The Turkish government seeks to construct the dam as part of its far-reaching Guneydogu Anadolu Projesi (GAP) project for the southeast of Turkey that involves the construction of 22 dams. The Ilisu Dam on the Tigris River (just upstream from the Syrian and Iraqi borders) is to be almost two kilometers long, more than 100 meters high, and cost some $2 billion. Its reservoir will cover about 121 square miles of countryside and farmland, including the ancient city of Hasankeyf.

   Turkish authorities maintain that the dam would bring many economic and social benefits to the surrounding population, which was mainly Kurdish. Opponents argue that the dam would destroy ancient and culturally significant Kurdish archeological sites forever and also have a negative environmental impact. In addition, Syria and Iraq protest that the dam would severely limit their water resources downstream. An internationally organized campaign against the Ilisu Dam has resulted and continues.