Fundamental flaws in plans for the proposed Ilisu dam in Turkey provoked international attention from 2000 to 2002. Following an exemplary international campaign, the consortium of companies planning to build the dams collapsed, safeguarding the ancient sites of archaeological significance in the area as well as the welfare of up to 78,000 people, mostly Kurds, who stood to be displaced by the project.

Almost three years on, a joint fact-finding mission by KHRP and the National University of Ireland, Galway, provides new evidence that the Turkish state has not learned the lessons of Ilisu. The mission gathered evidence of a new consortium of companies coming together to build the discredited dam and others. The basis for the projects remains essentially the same, and there is no evidence that affected communities have been consulted. Of those consulted by the mission, the overwhelming response was one of absolute opposition to the dams.

The report details the damage that would be caused to architecture and heritage, and highlights the impact of the dams on cultural rights. Numerous international and EU standards have not been met. Public consultation has not taken place; even were it to occur, it must be viewed in the context of the ongoing marginalisation of Kurds in Turkey.

Three years on, it is clear that international attention should once more be drawn to this issue.

ISBN 1900175851