DUSHANBE, October 24, 2013, Asia-Plus – Tajik environmental protection organization, The Small Earth, has sent an appeal to the Dushanbe mayor’s office with solicitation to stop unfounded felling of trees in the city.
The appeal, in particular, notes that growth in the population, increase in number of vehicles in Dushanbe, development of new enterprises as well as an active construction of buildings in the city are affecting the city ecosystem.
Over ten days, 51 persons have signed this letter: the appeal was made in an electronic form and only those who have access to Internet could read and sign it.
It should be noted that this issue has been brought to the mayor’s office’s attention.
We will recall that MP Muhiddin Kabiri criticized city officials during a parliamentary meeting on pollution that took place on October 10, 2012.
“Nobody pays attention to the felling of trees in the capital, which has become systematic,” MP Kabiri said during the session. “Reinforced concrete buildings have replaced tree-lined walkways and small parks in Dushanbe, which is causing problems for the city”s ecosystem.”
The Dushanbe mayor’s did not agree with criticism of the parliamentarian and demanded public apology. In early November last year, it filed a lawsuit against Muhiddin Kabiri for criticizing the city’s environmental record.
A court in Dushanbe’s Sino district considering a lawsuit filed by the Dushanbe mayor’s office against MP Muhiddin Kabiri has ruled Muhiddin Kabiri must apologize to the mayor’s office. The court handed down this ruling on January 29. Besides, the court has thrown out a counterclaim by Kabiri against the Dushanbe mayor’s office for 20 million somoni in damages.
Kabiri’s lawyer, Buzurgmehr Yorov, denounced the ruling and appealed to the board of the Dushanbe city court. The Dushanbe city court upheld the ruling handed down by the Sino district court against Muhiddin Kabiri.
Muhiddin Kabiri, however, is not going to apologize to the Dushanbe mayor’s office. “I will not apologize to the Dushanbe mayor’s office, even under the threat of criminal proceedings,” Kabiri told Asia-Plus in an interview on October 17. “It surprises me that the court that considered the lawsuit relied on reports released by media but not on the full parliament session transcript,” he added.
