People in Dushanbe Protest against Corrupt Judiciary and Household Evictions
35 people gathered yesterday in front of the Supreme Court in Dushanbe to protest against “unfair court rulings and corrupt judiciary” in the country. Protestors held placards with the names of “corrupt judges” and demanded that the head of the Supreme Court had a meeting with them. Participants of the public rally announced to journalists that their main goal was to draw the attention of authorities to corruption of the Tajik judiciary. In particular, they suggested that the judiciary was overwhelmingly unfair and corrupt in its dealings with private property disputes.
Meanwhile, private property is soon expected to become the major source of public discontent and hence, judicial cases in Dushanbe. The city authorities have recently publicized their preliminary General City-Planning Project.
The ill-famous document divides Dushanbe in three “circles” and prescribes what kind of buildings and facilities will be permitted in each circle. In particular, the document envisages that all private residential premises containing less than 3 stories will be evicted from the central part of the capital. In practical terms, this means that about 4 thousand families will lose their homes. In return for the land under their households, each family will be given a 30-square-meter land plot in the hilly eastern part of the city to build new housing.
Dushanbe-based journalists that have recently provided much coverage of the ill-famous General City-Planning Project suggest that implementation of the plan could lead to massive public discontent. They argue that a 30-square-meter land plot in the empty hills is not a substitute for expensive land plots in central Dushanbe.
This is not the first time that the city government forces the eviction of households under the reasoning of the state’s need for specific premises or parcels of the land. Human rights organizations working in Tajikistan report that housing evictions have become a growing area of human rights violations for ordinary people in Tajikistan. Watchdogs point at court cases of housing dispute by persons, who have been ordered to evict their homes. In nearly all cases the court has ruled against them and in favor of the local government.
on January 31st, 2007 at 11:32 am
УВАЖАЕМЫЕ ПОСЕТИТЕЛИ ОСТАВЛЯЙТЕ СВОИ КОММЕНТАРИИ, А НЕ ВСТАВЛЯЙТЕ ТУПО СТАТЬИ С ДРУГИХ САЙТОВ! ТАКИЕ “КОММЕНТАРИИ” БУДУТ ТУПО УДАЛЯТЬСЯ. И ПОЖАЛУЙСТА ОСТАВЛЯЙТЕ ВЗВЕШЕННЫЕ КОММЕНТАРИИ, А НЕ ПОЛИВАЙТЕ ГРЯЗЬЮ ВСЕХ И ВСЯ!!!
on February 3rd, 2007 at 2:23 am
What a f$%&. Our givernment is completely out of its mind. They are out of control. Evicting this many people would seriously threaten the fragile security in Dushanbe. I feel like something serious is bound to happen in a near future as a result of these evections.
on February 3rd, 2007 at 7:44 am
I agree with Horny Bastard. Massive property evictions would result in public disappointment and ultimately in violence. They seem to have forgotten the early 1990s when the housing issue sparked the first violence in Dushanbe.
But what I actually wonder about is what they will do with the tens of palaces built by the people in the government in central Dushanbe. Will they evict them as well? Rakhmonov also has a palace right in the centre of the capital. Will is also be evicted?
on February 5th, 2007 at 6:27 am
I do not believe they would evict the palace of Rakhmonov and smaller palaces of his “friends” as long as he is in power.
on February 8th, 2007 at 7:49 am
Regarding the palaces… I always thought that the country is really run not by the prez but by the people who leave in those downtown palaces in Dushanbe. So I think prez’s humble abode will go down first before a sibgle brick will be removed off the “other” palaces. May be if we are lucky enough the prez and the downtown crew will get into a disagreement over this “resettlement” business and start whooping one another.
on April 4th, 2007 at 11:00 pm
как хочется вернуться в родной таджикистан!!!!!
будь что будет….