The number of people out of work rose to as many as 825,000 after the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, had resumed its attacks on the public projects aiming to improve the level of welfare in the southeast and east, according to a report.
Officials suggest that ensuring security in the region will help reduce unemployment substantially. The number of unemployed workers, which stands at 2.8 million countrywide as of June 2015, is expected to reduce by a quarter when the 825,000 job-seekers will be employed in the energy projects, which are vital for the region's future.
PKK assaults targeting construction sites, belonging to the Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs, over the recent four months have led to financial damage of 7.8 million TL. Here, some of the attacks were carried out by the outlawed organization.
The PKK attacked the basic drilling site at Güroymak Dam in Bitlis, the East, on July 30. Officials said the attack has caused the financial loss of at least 400,000 TL, and led to heavy damage to two major pieces of heavy construction equipment.
On Aug. 22, the PKK attack targeting Silvan Dam, had led to a 3-day suspension in the construction operations. The financial loss was later declared as 3 million TL per day. Currently, the construction site employs almost 190 people. Normally, 600 people were supposed to work on the dam's construction, but the contractor has failed to find 410 others; unsecure working conditions have made prospective employees think twice, as well.
Construction work in Şirvan dam in Siirt were suspended in June 2013 due to the PKK attacks. The project is originally supposed to provide energy, valued at 27 million TL, annually. The cost of the delay is 75,000 TL per day.
Despite attacks and threats by the separatist group, the dam projects are still underway in Turkey's east and southeast.
Kindred spirits believe the dam projects are carrying out another intention.
The Kurdistan Communities Union, or KCK, a political umbrella of the PKK, claims that the dams were being constructed to displace Kurdish communities, rather than being used for energy purposes. PKK terrorists have threatened all contractors involved in dam projects and forced them to leave their posts on the projects. They have set fire to construction equipment and trucks carrying materials to the construction site.
However, the PKK oppose the dam construction, because its members are seriously concerned that the caves and hideouts will be flooded when the construction efforts are over, according to an expert from a Mardin-based NGO. “They want to prevent the dam construction, because when the dam holds water, their transit route, as well as caves and hideouts in which they can find shelter, will be flooded by water," Ahmet Akgül, the Head of International Strategic and Research Center, or USTAD.
Dams to improve the economy in Turkey's southeast
Kurdish Businessmen from the southeast argue the dams will improve the country's energy independence, while the unemployment rate is expected to decrease significantly after the dams are fully operational.
A young businessman said that the fate of the region will change when Silvan Dam becomes active. “People living in the region still wait for the Silvan Project. They want to have economic welfare by irrigating farm lands. We do not have any other B plan, but the GAP Project," Hakan Akbal, the President of Young Businessmen Association of the Southeast, said.
The Silvan Dam construction site, located near the province of Diyarbakır, is a frequent target of the PKK. The KCK, claims that the Silvan Dam is also being constructed to displace Kurdish communities.
Eight dams, two tunnels and an irrigation network are being constructed as part of the Silvan Project, which will be the second largest project after the Ataturk dam. It will cost 6.8 billion TL and irrigate 2.5 million acres of land. When the project is completed, at least 200,000 people will have the opportunity to work. When the dam is inaugurated, the amount of agricultural production is expected to rise by at least three or four times in Diyarbakır, the largest city in the southeast.
“If the association says they are against the construction of Silvan Dam, they then are expected to explain reasons to the region's people why they oppose the projects," Akbal said.
According to another businessman, the dams will help the economicial development in the region. “The dams will minimize the level of development among the regions. So, we do not accept any statement or view opposing the dam construction," said Nurettin Kasap, the chair of the Mardin office belonging to the Industrialists and Businessmen's Association, or MUSIAD.
The PKK is listed by the U.S., Turkey and the EU as a terrorist group. It has claimed the lives of around 40,000 people during its bloody campaign to declare a Kurdish self-rule in the southeast since 1984. A ceasefire had been observed at the end of October 2012, but it was broken when the outlawed organization resumed its attacks following a suicide bombing in Suruç town in July, on the border with Syria.
