TAJIK MINISTRY OF INTERIOR OFFICIALS EVICT RESIDENTS, TAKE

UNCLAS DUSHANBE 000643

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM TI
SUBJECT: TAJIK MINISTRY OF INTERIOR OFFICIALS EVICT RESIDENTS, TAKE
OVER BUILDING



1. On April 26 Ministry of Interior officials forcefully
evicted residents who illegally occupied a rundown 52-unit
building in Dushanbe. When POLOFF arrived on the scene, at
least 30 police officers had surrounded the area, and one fire
truck and an ambulance were poised and ready for emergencies.
Women and children, blankets and carpets were scattered cross
the area surrounding the building. Despite residents' protests,
officials removed all belongings from their apartments and
loaded them along with the residents onto open-top trucks.
According to a colonel who was in charge of the eviction, the
government will relocate residents to their hometowns as
indicated on their internal passports. Most residents
originally came from the south, but some will be sent back to as
far away as the Gorno-Badakhshan region. The residents were
internally displaced persons who arrived in Dushanbe after the
end of the civil war to find jobs.


2. Residents were visibly upset, but also helpless to act. One
woman threatened to set herself on fire in protest rather than
be evicted. The Ministry of Interior colonel overseeing the
eviction responded with: "Let her burn." This indifferent
comment was made right in front of POLOFF and certainly explains
the fire truck and ambulance. Fortunately, the woman did not
set herself on fire in the end and no other violent incidents
occurred, although some officers did walk around with billy
clubs and undoubtedly were prepared to use them. The eviction
proceeding began in 2006 and officers said that in November 2006
one woman did indeed set herself on fire in protest. The media
did not report on the incident.


3. Such severe acts reflect the residents' desperation. The
building the residents lived in had no windows or locks on the
doors, no running water or electricity. Most of the squatters
arrived approximately five to six years ago with families and
small children and have no relatives in the capital and no
alternative places to reside. Being evicted and forcefully
moved back to their hometowns means that they will lose their
jobs and any income they may have earned in Dushanbe.


4. Residents told POLOFF the building in question and an
adjacent building belonged to an opposition supporter during the
civil war who is now in prison. In early April, a Tajik court
decided that his properties now belong to the government. The
Ministry of Interior received permission to renovate the
buildings into apartments for needy Ministry of Interior
officials.


5. COMMENT: Although the residents were indeed squatters, the
justice system's decision to give the building to the Ministry
of Interior brings into question whether or not the decision is
legal. It is likely that the court system found "technical
errors" in the owner's documentation and deemed the property
illegally owned in the first place. So far, no one has disputed
the court's decision. Although the building is not located in
zone one, where officials are slowly evicting residents to
accommodate a new city plan, this latest incident compounds
Dushanbe citizens' fears and anger towards authorities trying to
take over their homes. In numerous other cases, city
authorities have seized buildings or property seemingly at will
without regard to finding a reasonable solution for residents.
END COMMENT.

JACOBSON