Will dams in Southeastern Turkey be used as weapons of war?
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HAKKARI, Turkey—As we neared Hakkari province in Turkey’s
far southeast, bordering Iraq and Iran, we began to see the helicopters
flying overhead. There were military bases scattered among the
mountains, resembling medieval castles. At checkpoints we were asked to
show our passports or IDs. My Turkish friend joked: “You see, even the
Turkish government thinks this is not Turkey!”
Hakkari is more than 1,100 miles from Istanbul, a mountainous region
populated mostly by ethnic Kurds. It is renowned for its untouched
natural beauty, fertile plains, snowcapped peaks, and clear water. It is
also the site of ongoing conflict, and many Turkish view it as a hotbed
of terrorism. Battles between the government and the guerrilla army of
the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), a militant organization that has been
fighting for Kurdish independence since the ’80s, are ongoing.
The high mountains and proximity to the foreign borders make it an
excellent area for guerrilla tactics, and the local Kurdish population
generally supports the PKK. As Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned PKK
leader, once said: “Hakkari is where we are the strongest.” Few visitors
enter this area, and the strong presence of the Turkish military makes
it feel inhospitable.
I was there in 2013 and 2015 to investigate a series of state-funded
dam projects that locals believe will be used for military purposes.
Some academics have reported that the so-called “security dams” are
actually part of a broader war strategy by the Turkish government, to
counter the PKK. When traveling to Hakkari along the Iraqi border,
several half-completed dam structures can be seen. The government has
claimed that the dams will bring electricity and foster development in
the poverty-stricken, mostly rural area, and that they are part of a
nationwide plan to use all Turkish water resources by 2023. As Turkish
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in 2011 when he was the country’s
prime minister: “No river should run in vain.”
More than a dozen new dams are planned in the Hakkari and Sirnak
provinces. The combined cost of these projects is estimated at more than
$1 billion. Four larger dams would be directly on the Greater Zab
River, and would contribute the major share of the estimated 1,100 MW
power generation. In Hakkari especially the Greater Zab is of major
importance, a key tributary to the Tigris .
The exact environmental impacts remain unclear, however some of the
dams are located in Key Biodiversity Areas and would flood those. KBAs
outline internationally important areas through standardized indicators
in order to conserve global diversity.
But the local populations believe the dams are intended to flood the
hideouts and routes of the PKK. The rough mountainous terrain will be
less accessible for guerrilla activity. Moreover, the villagers living
in those areas will be forced to move toward the city, making them
easier to control. Others complained that their smuggling activities
would be curbed; indeed the towns are filled with smuggled goods ranging
from gasoline to tea.
In 2008, during the announcement of the dam projects along the
Turkish-Iraqi border in Hakkari and the neighboring Sirnak province, the
General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works admitted that the dams are
“security dams against the PKK.” For many Kurds it was another reason
to oppose those projects. Today, however, the government denies this
statement.
In Hakkari I drank plenty of tea with locals and smoked smuggled
cigarettes in dusty towns. Wherever I went I heard the slogan, “Long
Live Kurdistan, Long Live the PKK.” I visited a dam construction site in
Semdinli, a district with stunning greenery also known for PKK
activity. In a small village on the mountain slope a local construction
worker told me that none of the necessary parts for hydropower
generation were installed. According a local politician with a thick
mustache from the opposition Peace and Democracy Party, the dams are the
same as military bases: Simply another way to suppress the people in
this rebellious province.
The PKK also sees dams as a direct attack and objects for several
reasons. One PKK member in Iraq who has been in the organization for 23
years, told me, “They want to own the root of civilization. Dams are one
of the methods to destroy the Kurdish history and culture. They use it
to flood archeology, to divide communities, and to make us leave our
mountains. The people get forced to live a modern life and forget their
roots. They divided us over the countries when they drew their borders
and they want to divide us through those dams as well.”
The PKK has made repeated threats to attack the dams. In 2012, 22
trucks were set on fire supposedly by the PKK and construction workers
have been kidnapped several times by the organization.
The dams are state backed-projects in an area of the country where
distrust towars the state runs deep. “This is the lawless East,” a local
lawyer explained to me. “The laws of [Western Turkey] don’t count
here.” In one case, the house of one family was severely damaged in
explosions related to dam construction, but no compensation was offered.
Nor have local villagers been invited to participate in the
decision-making process.
In Hakkari I attempted to speak to several local government
representatives. Most of my attempts failed. One of the governors agreed
to speak, but as soon as I started enquiring about the dams, the
conversation ended. In 2009, two French students were deported for
researching the purpose of the planned dams. I tried to comb the public
record for information about the dams, but was thwarted in this effort
too. Even though Turkey has a law that ensures public access to
information, simple facts such as where the dams are being built, when,
and how large, was not publicly available.
Eventually after having plenty of tea and friendly conversations at
the Hakkari environmental policy department, I was allowed to look at
the Environmental Impact Assessment—but only if I agreed not tell
anyone.
Finally I arranged a meeting with a tense local official, who agreed
to speak anonymously. Sipping tea, he insisted that the dams would not
be used against the PKK, but instead for generating electricity and
creating much needed jobs.
But he still believed the dams should not be built. A native of
Hakkari himself, his concerns go beyond the current conflict. “The next
generation will curse us,” he said. “Our thousands years old glaciers
will melt, and the indigenous nature of Hakkari will disappear.”
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