İZMİR - Ecologist Ertuğrul Barka, who pointed out that the cultural memory is wanted to be erased by submerging Hasankeyf, “An ancient civilization of 12 thousand of years was destroyed and sacrificed for a dam the life span of which cannot go beyond 50 years, is this humanitarian at all?"

 

The ancient city of Hasankeyf, which sits on the banks of the Tigris River in Turkey's southeastern province of Batman, has been submerged as part of a controversial dam project despite a public campaign led by residents and environmental activists for years. Hasankeyf is thought to be one of the oldest settlements on Earth, dating as far back as 12,000 years and containing thousands of caves, churches and tombs most of which was flooded as part of the highly controversial "Ilısu dam project" that caused the flooding of 199 settlements in the region, thousands of human-made caves and hundreds of historical sites.

 

Following the completion of the dam construction, Turkish government officials and affiliated media organizations continue to distort the severity of the destruction in Hasankeyf. State-run Anadolu Agency has recently posted photos for a story titled "The new face of Hasankeyf await for its guests" that showed the new version of the ancient site which is now submerged by the Ilısu Dam. Ecologist Ertuğrul Barka, who interpreted the photos that sparked fury in Turkey said that the both the dam project and the following media propaganda serve to erase “cultural memories”.

 

CULTURE AND HISTORY DROWNED IN CONCRETE

 

"If a citizen goes to Hasankeyf, they will not see anything other than a cultural and historical massacre," said Barka, adding that the culture and history of the city drowned in concrete with the dam. Barka said that he is uncomfortable with being a member of a tradition that destroys cultures. "The government is surrounding the Seljuk Dome, which we call our own culture, with TOKI houses," said Barka referring to TOKİ constructions by government-backed housing agency known as Mass Housing Development Administration. "They build mosques in İstanbul in the middle of an amphitheater. What kind of a mentality or culture does that? Who would go to a mosque for prayer built in the middle of a theater? The point is to destroy certain cites building mosques."

 

'THE WORLD IS AWARE OF THE DESTRUCTION, BUT KEEPS SILENT'

 

Stating that the policies regarding the destruction of culture and history have not changed since the foundation of the (Turkish) Republic, Barka said that various cultures and beliefs are not given the chance to survive in Turkey.  Barka said, “The destruction of Hasankeyf is a continuation of this policy. Everything they consider as an obstacle against the 'Turkification' is destroyed. They destroy culture and historical memory there. They destroy the roots of humanity. Just like the construction of dams in Iranian Kurdistan, to use the water resources around Palangan considered as sacred by the Kurds. Here, too, they destroy Hasankeyf and destroy huge values with it. The world is aware of the damage done to Hasankeyf. But they keep all silent. There are such historical and cultural legacies that belong to all humanity. It teaches us all something regarding the history of the human on the planet."

 

POLITICAL AND MILITARY MOTIVES BEHIND

 

Noting that the personalities of the cities and the personality of the whole country is lost by the loss of ancient sites such as Hasankeyf, Barka said, "Eventually they will be stuck under the wreckage they caused. A 12,000-year-old cultural heritage, a history, a civilization was destroyed and sacrificed for a dam the life span of which cannot go beyond 50 years, is this humanitarian at all? The issue in Hasankeyf is not a matter of economical purposes, but of political and military motives. They destroy both geography and life; that describes the politics with which the system parties have collaborated. When they submerge Hasankeyf, they also force people to leave their nature and migrate to cities."