| WORLD ARCHAEOLOGICAL CONGRESS
PRESIDENT’S OFFICE
President: Professor Martin Hall
Centre for Higher Education Development
University of Cape Town
Rondebosch 7700
South Africa
Telephone: +27 -21-6502645
Fax: +27 -21-6505055
mhall@ched.uct.ac.za
Mr Walter Schwimmer
Secretary General
Council of Europe
Palais de l’Europe
F- 67075
Strasbourg Cedex
France
Fax: 0033 388 41 27 99
President of the Parliamentary Assembly
Council of Europe
Palais de l’Europe
F- 67075
Strasbourg Cedex
France
Fax: 0033 388 41 27 96
21 January 2002
Dear Sirs,
Urgent: Document 9301 - Report
on the Cultural Aspects of the Ilisu Dam
Project, Turkey
The World Archaeological Congress draws
your urgent attention to inaccuracies and
misrepresentations in a report of the cultural
heritage committee of the Council, to be
presented to the general meeting of the
parliamentary assembly in Strasbourg.
The errors in this report have serious implications
for cultural rights in Turkey and it would
be unfitting and compromising were the Council
to be associated with its recommendations.
WAC has prepared a first response to the
report, highlighting the principle difficulties
that it presents: this response is attached.
We would be pleased to provide a full review
at a later point or recommend further sources
of information.
The Ilisu dam remains of the utmost concern,
not least because the Turkish authorities
have insisted on pressing ahead with it,
despite the volumes of evidence and the
opinion of professional organisations such
as WAC, ICOMOS Turkey and others that the
project would be disastrous for those most
affected, economically, socially and culturally.
The Council’s work in the area of human
rights need hardly be mentioned and we recall
in particular the 1999 interim resolution
on human rights in Turkey. The current
importance of considering these rights with
regard to Turkey’s process of accession
to the EU is also widely acknowledged. Consequently,
the World Archaeological Congress urges
the Parliamentary Assembly to repudiate
Document 9301.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Hall
President
World Archaeological Congress
Cc: Mr Bruno Haller
Secretary General of the Parliamentary
Assembly
Council of Europe
Palais de l’Europe
F- 67075
Strasbourg Cedex
France
FAX: 0933 388 41 2745
Cc: Christopher Grayson
Head of Secretariat
Culture, Science and Education
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council
of Europe
Palais de l’Europe
F- 67075
Strasbourg Cedex
France
FAX: 0033 388 41 2797
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