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Stop the flooding of Allianoi in Turkey! |
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ΑΡΧΕΙΟ ΑΡΘΡΩΝ -
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Europa Nostra
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Τρίτη, 20 Μάρτιος 2007
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Save Allianoi for the present and future generations!
Joint international appeal to the Turkish Government
The Hague, 20 March 2007 - Europa Nostra (the Pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, www.europanostra.org), EAA (the European Association of Archaeologists, www.e-a-a.org) and ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites, www.icomos.org), have today addressed an urgent appeal to the Turkish Prime Minister Mr Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling on him to intervene for the safeguarding of the Roman Baths of Allianoi. If no urgent action is undertaken, this archaeological site of extraordinary importance situated near Bergama in Western Turkey will be submerged by the waters soon to be retained by the Yortanli Dam. This appeal follows widespread opposition expressed by many Turkish experts and citizensΆ associations and earlier appeals by the EU Institutions and international conservation organisations, including Europa Nostra, the EAA and ICOMOS.
Europa Nostra, EAA and ICOMOS deplore the fact that in November 2006, the Regional Commission for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Heritage in Izmir accepted the proposal made by the Turkish State Water Works to halt further excavations at the site and to proceed with the flooding of the area. In deciding so, the above regional body did not give due consideration to the recommendations made by the Special Scientific Committee, set up last year by the Turkish Minister of Culture. These recommendations included a series of alternative conservation measures which could be undertaken before the possible flooding of the area, such as the protection of the site by the construction of an earth wall or by the relocation of some of the most important structures of this archaeological site.
Allianoi is a site of outstanding cultural and historic significance, a cultural heritage shared by the local communities, the Turkish people, the European citizens and the world as a whole. The responsibility to preserve this site for the present and future generations should therefore also be shared.
In the appeal, the Turkish Government is asked to postpone the flooding of Allianoi, pending the completion of the excavation, data-collection and documentation of the site. Europa Nostra, EAA and ICOMOS also suggest that during this period, the Turkish Government commission an in-depth study of the social, cultural and economic benefits which could be generated for the wider region by a possible development of Allianoi into a cultural and health tourism centre. This should be considered as a serious sustainable development alternative to the possible local economic benefits associated with the creation of an irrigation reservoir whose effective life-span is not expected to exceed 50 years.
For more information, please contact:
Laurie Neale, Europa Nostra Communications Officer, co@europanostra.org, tel. +31 70 302 40 55
Mark Snethlage, Policy and Campaigns Officer, imo@europanostra.org, tel +31 70 302 40 51
www.europanostra.org/save_allianoi.html
EUROPA NOSTRA
Pan-European Federation for Heritage
Federation europeenne du patrimoine
Lange Voorhout 35
NL - 2514 EC The Hague / La Haye
The Netherlands / Pays-Bas
tel +31 70 302 40 51
fax +31 70 361 78 65
imo@europanostra.org
www.europanostra.org
About Europa Nostra
Europa Nostra, the pan-European Federation for Heritage, is the representative platform of over 200 heritage NGOs active throughout Europe. It is the voice of this vast movement of European civil society active in the field of heritage towards international bodies concerned, in particular the European Union Institutions, the Council of Europe and UNESCO.
Europa Nostra is dedicated to putting heritage and its benefits in the mainstream of public consciousness and to making heritage a priority for public policies both at European and national levels. Its specific objectives are to promote, at a European level, high standards of quality in the fields of heritage conservation, architecture, urban and rural planning and to advocate a balanced and sustainable development of urban and rural, built and natural environment.
Europa Nostra supports national and international campaigns for the preservation and rescue of EuropeΆs heritage at risk. It encourages exemplary initiatives in favour of the conservation and enhancement of cultural heritage by recognising outstanding heritage achievements, in particular through the running of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards. In early 2006, Europa Nostra was selected as the new Liaison Office for the co-ordination of the "European Heritage Days", a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission.
Through its various activities, Europa Nostra seeks to highlight the importance of cultural heritage as a building block of European identity and as a contribution to the strengthening of the sense of European citizenship.
www.europanostra.org
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ecocrete.gr . |
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