DUSHANBE, January 30, Asia-Plus — Speaking at enlarged session of the government, President Emomali Rahmon said, “The fact that 69 historical and cultural relics have been destroyed in the country over the past 15 years evokes serious concern.”
According to him the relics were destroyed in Vahdat, Tursunzoda, Panjakent, Hissor, Shahrinav, Ayni and Kuhistoni Mastchoh districts.
In the meantime, Muzaffar Azizov, the head of the department for preservation of historical and cultural heritage of the Ministry of Culture (MoC), said that the situation was very serious and more than 100 such cases had been reported.
He named use of lands for housing and so forth as one of the main factors contributing to destruction of cultural relics in the country. “All this points to incapacity of local authorities and relevant bodies in the provinces,” Azizov said.
He added that the law on preservation of historical and cultural relics was adopted only in march 2006.
According to a MoC, 2,000 historical and cultural relics have to date been registered in Tajikistan.
