By
Soudabeh Sadigh
For the first time a session was held in number
ninth branch of Tehran’s public court to study the file of Sivand Dam’s
complainants.
A
view of Sivand Dam
Tehran, 4 July 2007 (CHN) – The first
trail session for studying the file of people’s complaint against Iran’s
Minister of Power and President of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and
Tourism Organization for flooding of Sivand Dam in Iranian Fars province was
held yesterday in number 9th branch of Tehran’s public court with
presence of the lawyer of the file and a number of representatives of NGOs and
cultural heritage experts.
Studying the file of complainants of Sivand Dam has
been started by the court in a status that more than 5 months have been passed
since opponents of Sivand’s Dam inundation have filed a complaint to the court.
This is while the inundation of the dam has already been started from the
beginning of Iranian new year (about March). “Filing this complaint was made in
an attempt to stop the inundation of Sivand Dam. However, unfortunately we have
already lost a four months opportunity in this regard,” said Mohammad Ali
Dadkhah, lawyer of Sivand Dam’s complainants.
According to Dadkhah, taking into account that
according to regulations of legal department of Iran’s Judiciary Official, and
the 8th article of Iran’s Constitution, each complaint case which
have something to do with national interest and dealing a blow to cultural
heritage is considered as a religious commands and is regarded as a government’s
duty towards people and vise versa, which is why this complaint has been
submitted to Iran’s justice department for further study.
The news about construction of Sivand Dam in
Bolaghi Gorge near Pasargadae World Heritage site in Iranian Fars province
raised many concerns among cultural heritage enthusiasts both inside and outside
Iran who are worry about the potential negative side effects of this dam on the
Tomb of Cyrus the Great, the Achaemenid
king.
In this complaint, Cyrus the Great has been
introduced as the savor of human beings whose noble name has been mentioned in
the Holy Scriptures. Mentioning that the Cylinder of Cyrus the Great has been
translated into different languages in the United Nations as the world’s first
charter of human rights, the complainants have asked in their complaint to pay
more attention to this world heritage site.
This complaint was signed by some 2100 components
who have obviously voiced their opposition with inundation of Sivand Dam. During
this session, a number of environment enthusiasts also expressed their concern
about the negative effects of this dam on the ecosystem of the
region.
The file has been revisited in the next court
session which will be held on next week during which the court will make a judge
about the complaint.
... Payvand News - 7/5/07 ...
