Turkish Army Razes Forest in Bitlis

Earlier this month, as part of military operations in Bitlis, Turkish forced burned thousands of acres of local forests to the ground. Locals estimate that almost 90% of the forest was destroyed by the fires. The fires are part of a military operation launched against 24 villages in the majority Kurdish region of Bitlis. This … Read more

The Devastating Impacts of Flooding Hasankeyf

Despite opposition from civil society, local residents and environmentalists the Turkish governments Ilisu dam project and its flooding of the 12,000 year old town of Hasankeyf have continued unabated. As predicted by many, the devastating impacts of the flooding have greatly affected the area both on an ecological and human level. At least 80,000 people … Read more

Save the Tigris Campaign: Stop the filling of the Ilisu Dam

Destroying cultural heritage, threatening regional stability Stop the filling of the Ilisu Dam Despite strong domestic and international opposition, the Turkish government has commenced filling the reservoir of the controversial Ilisu Dam on the Tigris River in the Kurdish Southeast of Turkey without giving any official warning to those still living in the area. Neither … Read more

Filling of Ilisu Dam has started! Join the resistance with the “Hasankeyf Watch”!

The Turkish government has started filling the controversial Ilisu Dam Reservoir on the Tigris River in the Kurdish Southeast of Turkey. We call on all people and organizations to stand against this act of destruction. Join or visit the Hasankeyf Watch in the 12,000 year old town Hasankeyf! Photos shared on social media from the … Read more

Art performance in the Vatican for Hasankeyf

Artists of the group ‘Compagnie bien à vous Armanc Kerborani’ are drawing attention to the planned destruction of the historic city of Hasankeyf. With the support of Zehra Dogan (artist and journalist), the group gave recent performances in Paris at the Louvre Museum under the Pyramid on Thursday, 27 June 2019 and in Berlin at … Read more

Riot police try to stop protest against hundreds of historic villages being wiped off the map

The construction of the Ilısu dam in southeastern Turkey threatens to displace 78,000 people and destroy one of the oldest continually inhabited places on earth. Turkey wants to fill the dam’s reservoir as soon as possible. But campaigners say international solidarity action is delaying the process. The dam is being built by international and Turkish companies in Bakur – the part of Kurdistan within Turkey’s … Read more

Police accused of ‘disproportionate and aggressive response’ to protest at Turkish embassy in London

lice reportedly threatened protesters with CS gas outside the Turkish embassy in London on 7 June. They arrested one person, while another had to be taken to hospital. “Devastating ecological, historical and social consequences” Around 50 people joined a protest to call on Turkey not to destroy hundreds of majority-Kurdish villages within its borders. The … Read more

Turkey is about to wipe hundreds of historic Kurdish villages off the map

First published by The Canary By Eliza Egret The Turkish state has long been unrelenting in its plans to wipe out Kurdish culture. And in its latest move, it has vowed to begin filling a controversial dam within its borders on 10 June. This will see hundreds of majority-Kurdish villages submerged under water, literally wiping … Read more