M. Ronayne (Junior Representative for Northern Europe – National University of Ireland, Galway) maggie.ronayne@nuigalway.ie
The archaeologists’ branch of the UK-based IPMS union passed the following resolution, imposing a green ban on the Ilisu dam project. The idea of a green ban was first used by construction workers in Australia in the 1970s and has also been applied to Ilisu by UCATT, a construction workers’ union in the UK.
Resolution:
The Archaeologists branch of the IPMS states our opposition to the proposed Ilisu dam project and we condemn the human rights, archaeological and political consequences of the project. Given the results of the October 2000 fact-finding mission to the region, we oppose the £200 million of UK government aid to be given to Balfour Beatty to participate in the construction of the dam. The professional ethics of rescue archaeologists should not be exploited for the gain of developers, nor used to support the repression of peoples in communities affected by the development.
Being the union for archaeological workers in Britain, we cannot agree to work upon a project with such an inadequate level of local consultation and disregard for archaeological material that is both unique and woefully undocumented. We therefore issue a Green ban on the Ilisu dam project and encourage all branch members to refuse to undertake any works on any contract to remove archaeological remains from the area.