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First Trial for Sivand Dam’s Inundation Held

http://www.chnpress.com/news/?section=2&id=7204


A view of Sivand Dam

For the first time a session was held in number ninth branch of Tehran’s public court to study the file of Sivand Dam’s complainants.


Tehran, 4 July 2007 (CHN Foreign Desk) – The first trail session for studying the file of people’s complaint against Iran’s Minister of Power and President of Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts, and Tourism Organization for flooding of Sivand Dam in Iranian Fars province was held yesterday in number 9th branch of Tehran’s public court with presence of the lawyer of the file and a number of representatives of NGOs and cultural heritage experts.

Studying the file of complainants of Sivand Dam has been started by the court in a status that more than 5 months have been passed since opponents of Sivand’s Dam inundation have filed a complaint to the court. This is while the inundation of the dam has already been started from the beginning of Iranian new year (about March). “Filing this complaint was made in an attempt to stop the inundation of Sivand Dam. However, unfortunately we have already lost a four months opportunity in this regard,” said Mohammad Ali Dadkhah, lawyer of Sivand Dam’s complainants.

According to Dadkhah, taking into account that according to regulations of legal department of Iran’s Judiciary Official, and the 8th article of Iran’s Constitution, each complaint case which have something to do with national interest and dealing a blow to cultural heritage is considered as a religious commands and is regarded as a government’s duty towards people and vise versa, which is why this complaint has been submitted to Iran’s justice department for further study.

The news about construction of Sivand Dam in Bolaghi Gorge near Pasargadae World Heritage site in Iranian Fars province raised many concerns among cultural heritage enthusiasts both inside and outside Iran who are worry about the potential negative side effects of this dam on the Tomb of Cyrus the Great, the Achaemenid king.

In this complaint, Cyrus the Great has been introduced as the savor of human beings whose noble name has been mentioned in the Holy Scriptures. Mentioning that the Cylinder of Cyrus the Great has been translated into different languages in the United Nations as the world’s first charter of human rights, the complainants have asked in their complaint to pay more attention to this world heritage site.

This complaint was signed by some 2100 components who have obviously voiced their opposition with inundation of Sivand Dam. During this session, a number of environment enthusiasts also expressed their concern about the negative effects of this dam on the ecosystem of the region.

The file has been revisited in the next court session which will be held on next week during which the court will make a judge about the complaint.


Soudabeh Sadigh
foreigndesk@chn.ir