UK seeks assurances over Turkey dam

The site of the proposed dam over the Tigris

The UK government has responded to MPs demands to seek more assurances from Turkey before they back the construction of a controversial dam on the River Tigris.

The move comes after a scathing report by the all-party Trade and Industry Select Committee into potential government support for the Ilisu dam project which stands to make thousands of Turkish Kurds homeless.

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Responding to the MPs' report published in March ministers pledged to get further assurances from Turkey that the re-settlement of Kurds will include appropriate safeguards.

International pressure groups have been lobbying the UK government not to underwrite the dam's construction by providing credit guarantees to British firms involved in the project.

In its response to the MPs, the Department of Trade and Industry said: "The government will need to be assured that all the areas of concern that we have identified can be addressed satisfactorily.

"We agree however that the re-settlement issue which impacts directly on the lives of local residents is of particular concern."

As well as protests against the displacing of local people, the proposed dam has also provoked criticised from environmentalists.

There are also fears that damming the Tigris could raise regional tensions by restricting the water supply to neighbouring Syria and Iraq.

Martin O'Neill, head of the Commons Trade and Industry Select Committee, told the BBC that ministers had accepted some of the criticisms and agreed that Turkey should make commitments to uphold human rights before the project is funded.

"If they are going to get membership of the European Union this is very much a test case for them."

Calling for a proper and full Commons debate, Mr O'Neill criticised that lack of transparency that he said had taken place over the issue.