Oppositions to Inundation of Sivand Dam Still Continue
2/15/07
By Soudabeh Sadigh
Tehran, 14 February 2007 (CHN) --
Today, a group of cultural heritage enthusiasts and NGOs gathered in front of
Iran’s Islamic Parliament in Tehran to voice their objection to the flooding of
Sivand Dam in Fars province once again. Protesters carried placards in support
of saving historical sites which are located in Bolaghi Gorge behind the Sivand
Dam and will submerge with inundation of the dam.
According to CHN correspondent, what
distinguishes this gathering from the others is the wide variety of crowd who
have come from different Iranian provinces including Fars, Khuzestan, and
Isfahan with a coherent approach to express their anger with drowning of Iranian
historical sites. Attendance of some ethnic groups among the crowd with their
traditional dresses who have come from long distances to take part in this
gathering all indicates that the issue has become a matter of great national
concern. With signing a declaration, more than 30 political teams have also
announced their disagreement with inundation of Sivand Dam.
Protesters have threatened that they would continue their
objections through other governmental organizations if they do not receive a
positive response to this request by the
Parliament.
Earlier to
this, Amir Reza Khadem, member of Cultural Commission of Iran’s Parliament told
CHN that in an attempt to put an end to this crisis, he has proposed the
possibility for flooding the reservoir of the dam only up to 1800 meters high to
Iran’s President during his recent attendance in the Parliament. Kadem believes
that this height of water would prevent the possible damages which the
inundation of the dam would pose to the historical sites in the area including
the tomb of Cyrus the Great, located 9-kilometer distance of the
dam.

Protesters in front of Iran’s
Ministry of Energy on February 7
Condemning the weak policies of the
president of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization (ICHTO) towards
Sivand Dam, Khadem told CHN: “Iran’s Minister of Energy has accused ICHTO for
showing indifference toward the inundation of Sivand Dam by failing to fulfill
its obligation for submitting a comprehensive record about the negative
consequences of flooding of the dam to this Ministry. Meanwhile it is also said
that authorities of the Organization have unofficially announced their agreement
with inundation of the dam.”
Member of Cultural
Commission of Iran’s Parliament expressed hope that Iran’s Ministry of Energy
and Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization would reach to an agreement based
on this proposal provided that Iran’s President announces his agreement within
the shortest time.
The news about construction of Sivand Dam in
Bolaghi Gorge which is an important archeological site close to the world
heritage site of Pasargadae raised many concerns among cultural heritage
enthusiasts all over the world. Ever since the initial phase of Sivand Dam
construction, large groups of archeologists and experts from Iran and across the
globe became engaged in an emergency salvation project to save the remaining
historical evidence at Bolaghi Gorge before inundation of the dam made this
salvation project the biggest one ever in the history of Iran’s archeological
activities.
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