'Barajarock’ Hasankeyf Solidarity Camp begins
BATMAN (DİHA) - The 'Barajarock' Hasankeyf Solidarity Camp has been established in Hasankeyf. The camp was initiated with the reading of a press release by environmentalists and ecologists at the bridge over the Tigris in Hasankeyf.
The 'Barajarock' Solidarity Camp has been organised by the Hasankeyf Initiative against the Ilisu Dam that will submerge the 12,000-year-old town of Hasankeyf. The activists wore T-shirts carrying the words "Do not allow Hasankeyf to vanish" and "Those who do not take ownership of their own history are doomed" assembled at the Hasankeyf bridge. Veysi Ayhan read the press release on their behalf, saying they would not allow the ancient town to be submerged, adding: "We want to emphasise in an increasingly strong voice that what is under threat is our own history, culture, nature and living space. If we don't oppose this dam all this will be taken from us. We will be left as a generation without roots. We believe this is 'a decision of life or destruction' and consequently concerns the mass of people above categories. We are stubborn, we are persistent, and we have a passion for life that opposes their determination to destroy."
Following the reading of the press release the activists began a march accompanied by applause, ululations and slogans. The camp is continuing on the banks of the river with various ecological seminars and workshops.
(nt)
