Following Earth Day 2007 last Sunday, KHRP would like to bring renewed attention to the urgency of the environmental and human rights questions in the Kurdish regions. Not only are the regions the scene of massive repression, but the regions’ environment is also falling victim to untold destruction due to the actions of state and corporate-sponsored development projects.

The Southeast Anatolia Dam Project (GAP), in particular the proposed Ilisu and Cizre dams, pose serious environmental risks to the people of Turkey, Iraq and Syria. The dam project has resulted in the displacement and dispossession of tens of thousands of people, most of whom are Kurds. Further, it poses a grave risk to water supplies and threatens to make water yet another weapon of war.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, which was completed in 2006, has been roundly criticized for numerous flaws in its design. There is desperate need for increased surveillance of the line due to doubts about the suitability of its coating and resulting concerns about cracks and leakages. This comes in the wake of a recent report condemning BP for its patchy safety record following a hugely destructive oil leak in Alaska in 2006. KHRP and its partner, the Baku-Ceyhan Campaign, continue to call for these safety concerns to be explored and resolved. The welfare, livelihoods and health of all those living along the pipeline are at stake.