Turkish dam threatening to devastate Iraqi lives

Mahmud al-Batakoshi

“Protecting Turkey’s water resources is no longer an option, but a necessity. We cannot tolerate wasting even a single drop of our country’s water resources”.

This was what Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during the opening ceremony of the Ilisu Dam on November 6.

In saying this, the Turkish president appeared not to care a single whit about the serious damage the dam would be causing to neighboring countries, especially Iraq.

The dam deprives Iraq of more than half of its share of water. It is constructed over the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which originate in the Anatolian plateau. The two rivers are the main sources of water for Iraq.

Tampering with Iraqi lives

Iraq’s weaknesses following the American invasion and the overthrow of the Saddam Hussein regime in 2003 had a negative impact on it, giving the chance to other countries to tamper with the life of its people.

Turkey exploits its control over the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to build dams and irrigation projects on the two rivers.

The Euphrates River is 2,784 kilometers long. It stems from Turkey and then flows into Syria on the road to Iraq.

The Tigris River flows directly into Iraq. The two rivers give Iraq approximately 80 billion cubic meters of fresh water annually.

Iraq needs 50 billion cubic meters annually to cover its water needs. The Tigris is the main source of water for the Arab country as it covers 60% of its needs. The remaining amount of water comes from the Euphrates River.

Turkey claims that the Ilisu Dam does not have negative effects on Iraq because it allows the passage of water.

Ankara says the dam is a hydroelectric one and therefore it does not pose any dangers to Iraq’s water share.