Report of a fact-finding mission

Zurich/Berlin, 12 June 2009 – From May 18-23, 2009 Christine Eberlein (Berne Declaration) and Heike Drillisch (CounterCurrent – GegenStrömung) visited the Ilisu region and spoke with resettlement planners, affected people and archaeologists about the current state of the resettlement planning and the implementation of the conditions for the Ilisu dam.

In their report they come to the conclusion that there has been some progress regarding the resettlement plannning, but shortly before the deadline for the implementation of the conditions central problems are still unsolved. A concept for the antique town of Hasankeyf is still missing, resettlement planning is still ill-perceived and the commitment of the Turkish authorities to implement international standards questionable.