LATIF SERHILDAN,
Madam, - One wonders if the advertisement in your edition of December 9th, placed by Turkish businesses, should be scrutinised by the Advertising Standards Authority for accuracy?
Dynamic and young Turkey may be, but we have to question just how democratically sound it is, particularly with regard to its rich cultural heritage. The recent excellent report by the Kurdish Human Rights Project on the Ilisiu Dam project - a key project of Turkey's Southeast Anatolia Project (GAP) - states that the dam, which has been halted due to the withdrawal of international sponsorship, "would have resulted in yet further displacement of the mostly Kurdish population in the Ilisiu area, up to 78,000 people, as well as untold damage to their environment, health and cultural heritage."
The Turkish Government is still committed to this project, which will deprive communities of the waters of the River Tigris in Syria and Iraq also.
Companies involved are seeking replacements for those engineering companies and financial backers which have withdrawn, despite the fact that the dam would destroy the historically significant town of Hasankeyf - the seat of many pre-Ottoman medieval dynasties and home to one of the longest lived Kurdish dynastic families in Western Asia.
Reforms in Turkey with regard to cultural, linguistic and human rights are welcome, but real change has yet to be recorded. The Irish Government should withhold approval for Turkish accession to the EU until these changes are shown to be taking effect in real terms. - Yours, etc.,
LATIF SERHILDAN,
Kurdistan Solidarity Ireland,
Glasheen Road,
Cork.