DUSHANBE, August 4, 2009, Asia-Plus – A Tajik family whose home was bulldozed held a protest with other supporters in front of the government building in Dushanbe, RFE/RL”s Tajik Service reported on August 3.
The protesters say the demolition of the home in the village of Zarkamar, some 60 kilometers east of Dushanbe, was carried out illegally and without any preliminary warning.
Gulru Azizova, her husband, and their five children also claim they were not given any time to remove their property from the house before it was bulldozed, burying their possessions, food, and clothes.
Other villagers at the protest said that the head of Fayzobod district where the house was located told them he did not order the house”s demolition. A local court made a similar statement.
But some officials from the Prosecutor”s Office told the protesters that a former prosecutor had ordered the house to be destroyed because of reconstruction taking place nearby.
Azizova said it has been almost 20 days since the demolition, and the family is looking for a permanent roof over their heads.
A representative from the Tajik president”s administration spoke with the protesters and promised them an unbiased consideration of their case.
Dozens of homes in Tajikistan have been demolished in recent years by authorities who say the dwellings have no legal permits.
