Export Credit Agencies / Press Releases

Contact: Ercan Ayboga, Heike Drillisch

Kurdish groups and NGOs organized demonstrations outside local branches of the German Sparkasse (Savings Bank) and Deka Bank in eleven German towns today. The protests are targeting the two banks financial support of the controversial Ilisu dam in south-eastern Turkey that will submerge the ancient city of Hasankeyf. Deka Bank alone is underwriting construction of the hydropower project with more than 100 Million Euros.

Nichtregierungsorganisationen kritisieren Bürgschaftsbewilligung für türkischen Ilisu-Staudamm

Die soeben bekannt gegebene Entscheidung der Bundesregierung, eine Hermesbürgschaft für den Ilisu-Staudamm im Südosten der Türkei endgültig zu bewilligen, trifft auf massive Kritik von Nichtregierungsorganisationen.

"Die Bundesregierung opfert Menschen, Kultur und Umwelt, um einigen Unternehmen Gewinne zu ermöglichen", urteilt Heike Drillisch von der Umwelt- und Entwicklungsorganisation WEED. "Die Pro-Ilisu-Entscheidung ist eine Schande für Deutschland." Nach wie vor wurden die betroffene Bevölkerung und die gewählten Repräsentanten der umliegenden Gemeinden nicht angemessen in die Planung einbezogen. Nach Umfragen sind rund 80% der Bevölkerung gegen das Projekt. "Mit der Entscheidung beugt die Bundesregierung sich offensichtlich dem Druck, den die türkische Regierung aufgebaut hat, statt auf die Einhaltung internationaler Standards zu achten", so Drillisch.

German Government Export Credit Guarantee Condemned

The German government’s March 26 decision to grant an export credit guarantee for the Ilisu dam in southeast Turkey has prompted widespread criticism and condemnation from a number of human rights and environmental groups. "The German Government has sacrificed people, culture and the environment in order to enable companies to make a profit," argued Heike Drillisch of WEED, a German environmental and development organization. "The pro-Ilisu decision is a disgrace for Germany."

Environment and Human Rights Activists today occupied the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany

For images from the occupation of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, contact Kai Schäfer, kai.schaefer [at] weed-online [dot] org, 0160 - 252 8942

Berlin -- "We have occupied the Brandenburg Gate to show the people here in Germany what their government is currently planning in Turkey," explains activist Matthias Dittmer. "We have a couple of hundred years of history here in Berlin -- the submergence of Hasankeyf would destroy a 9,000 year-old history." The direct action was called by environment and human rights organizations protesting the grant of an export credit guarantee by the German government for the controversial Ilisu Dam in Turkey.

On September 6–7, the OECD governments are expected to take a decision on whether to allow special financial terms to take effect for hydropower projects that are financed with official export credits. They are also expected to decide whether the current environmental guidelines of Export Credit Agencies are sufficient to mitigate the negative impacts of large hydro projects.

Six large international banks are currently arranging a $1 billion bond for China Exim Bank, the world’s third largest export credit agency. China Exim Bank is financing several environmentally and socially destructive projects in countries with abysmal human rights records. International Rivers Network and Friends of the Earth/US warn that given China Exim Bank’s track record, the pending bond issue will undermine the environmental standards of private banks and result in environmental money laundering.

NGOs also demand withdrawal from Filipino dam

An international appeal was delivered to the Japanese Prime Minister, Mr. Keizo Obuchi, today urging him to ensure that clear social and environmental standards are established for the new institution to be created by merging the Export–Import Bank of Japan (JEXIM) and the Japanese Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF). The open letter also calls on the Prime Minister to withdraw all financial assistance for the controversial $1 billion San Roque Hydropower and Irrigation Project in the Philippines. The appeal was signed by 77 citizens’ groups, 12 National Diet members and more than 500 individuals from 26 countries.

Funding decided despite opposition of local government, residents and NGOs, incomplete Environmental Impact Assessment

On 27 October the Export–Import Bank of Japan (JEXIM) signed an agreement with San Roque Power Corporation (SRPC) for a $302 million loan for the 345–MW San Roque Dam, located on the Agno River in the Philippines. The $1.5 billion project is being constructed by a consortium led by NY–based Sithe Energies Inc. and the Japanese Marubeni Corp.