You are invited to participate in a workshop on the Save the Tigris Campaign that will be held in Basra. This session will be part of the IV Conference of the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative, to be held on October 21, 2012, at the Cultural House in the city of Basra, within the Iraqi Nonviolence Forum (October 20-22, 2012). We will discuss the latest developments of the campaign, and on October 23 you will get the opportunity to travel in a field visit to the Mesopotamian Marshes. International and national activists who are interested in the subject of the campaign and people’s right to water will attend this session.

Invitation:

Our campaign continues while the construction of the Ilisu Dam in Turkey threatens Iraqi water resources, and the authorities which are responsible for protecting the Tigris river and its cultural heritage keep silent. As we speak, the Tigris River has been diverted at the construction site of the Ilisu Dam and now flows through three big tunnels. Works on the dam in the dry river bed are expected to be completed by 2014. This disaster threatens the waters, environment, and cultural heritage of Iraq and Turkey.

In July 2012 we released clear demands regarding the Ilisu dam through a press conference held in Suleymaniya city, which was attended by regional and local media channels. We sent a clear message to the Iraqi government, UNESCO-Iraq and to Andritz (the Austrian company which is the main dam contractor in Turkey). Petitions have been signed by more than 5000 Iraqi activists in addition to the 40.000 signatures to our message to the World Heritage Committee in UNESCO to protect cultural heritage along the river.  We have not received any response regarding the clear and specific demands from the Iraqi people.

It is time to deal with the matter of Ilisu dam, save the city of Hasakeyf and protect the Iraqi Marshes by including them in the list of World Heritage Sites. We invite those who care about this campaign to come and discuss this matter in our workshop. Our session will be important to strategize and move forward again, and prepare a joint field visit to the Mesopotamian marshes in cooperation with the local people and Sheikhs.

Registration:

لحضور الجلسة عليك التأكد من انك سجلت في منتدى لاعنف الثاني ، يمكنك التسجيل اونلاين وعن طريق الرابط التاليTo attend the workshop, register online for the ICSSI conference through the following linkhttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dHRKc2dGRjZEdUIzUTdYWmhwVENaMnc6MQ#gid=0: http://www.iraqicivilsociety.org/archives/837

To participate in the session contain:

Our time will be limited since this session is part of a broader program, but if you want to give a brief speech or a presentation in this workshop, please write no later than October 1, 2012, to: journalism.freedom@gmail.com icssi.project@gmail.com

You will be notified on the space assigned to your speech during the workshop.

For more information

In Baghdad please call: Nadia Al Baghdadi and Ahmed Al Sultan

In Al Suleimanyia please call : Johanna Rivera +9647503491586

Organizers:

Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative (international), Nature Iraq (Iraq), Iraqi People campaign to save Tigris river (Iraq), Initiative for Keeping Hasankeyf Alive (Turkey), The Sustainable Development Center (Iran), Civil Development Organization (Iraq- Kurdistan Region).