AL warns Britain, Switzerland against financing Aleiso dam in Turkey
Regional-Turkey, Politics, 8/5/1999

The Arab League has warned against the participation of the governments of Britain and Switzerland and several companies relating to them in building the Turkish Aleiso dam on the Tigris river in Turkey, a project planned to be constructed by Turkey in the course of the Gab project near the borders with Syria and Iraq.

This was expressed in a report prepared by the AL to be submitted to the meeting of the Arab foreign ministers on the question of Tigris and Euphrates during the meeting of the Arab FM s council in Cairo on September 4.

The report was sent to the foreign ministers of both Britain and Switzerland. AL chief Esmat Abdul Meguid said this act by the two countries is not in compliance with the international law and civilized charters the two countries ever claim to abide by.

The report said that building Aleiso dam is a flagrant violation by the Turkish side of the norms of international law concerning construction on international rivers, included in various international treaties and agreements, especially the agreement on the use of "non-navigable courses of international waters" approved by the UN in 1967. Britain was among the countries which voted for this agreement.

The report stated that the AL secretary general had expressed in a previous message to the chairman of the World Bank the concern of the AL of the WB continued financing of such Turkish projects for its adverse impact on the Arab rights in the waters of Tigris and the Euphrates.

Earlier, the AL received two official memorandum from both Syria and Iraq in this respect.

Previous Stories:
  Report: Britain no longer backing dam project in Turkey   (8/3/1999)
  Report: Syria, Iraq lodge official objection over Britain's support for a Turkish dam   (5/10/1999)
  Syrian measures to combat water shortage crisis   (5/7/1999)
  Report: Israel and the waters of Tigris and the Euphrates   (4/20/1999)

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