Leaders on mock trial at World Water Forum

Agence France-Presse

The event, which aims to raise awareness about water-resources management, is being held in advance of the fifth World Water Forum, which begins in Istanbul next week and is expected to draw government officials, businesspeople and civic groups from about 180 countries.

"The idea [of the tribunal] is to bring public attention to problems related to the water policies of the governments of Turkey, Brazil and Mexico, but also internationally," said Ulrike Dufner from the German foundation Heinrich Boll Stiftung, one of the co-sponsors of the mock trial. The activists’ event aims to promote the idea that access to "water is a human right and that we are violating a human right when we privatize water resources," Dufner told AFP.

The tribunal targets Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan over the Yusufeli dam project, which activists say would meet only 0.6 percent of the country’s power needs but force the displacement of 16,000 people in the northeast region and damage local biodiversity.



Mock verdicts on Saturday

Also facing "charges" is German Chancellor Angela Merkel, over her country’s plans to help finance construction of the Ilısu Dam on the Tigris River in southeast Turkey. The project would displace 54,000 people and submerge a prominent historical site.

The activists, who also oppose dam projects on the Madeira River in Brazil and have accused Mexican officials of allowing the country’s environmental situation to worsen, are scheduled to announce their "verdicts" on Saturday.