New construction, large-scale demolitions, building refurbishments, and street closings are reconfiguring Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent. Consistent with President Islam Karimov’s penchant for opaque policy-making, officials have not offered an explanation for the timing and the scope of recent urban renewal efforts.
Some local observers believe that Tashkent planners are following the “Ashgabat model,” a reference to the sweeping changes that have transformed the Turkmen capital over the last two decades. Uzbek officials would like to see Tashkent filled with “beautiful palaces that you stare at in awe, but [are] not a place for people to live in,” said one resident. [For background see EurasiaNet’s archive].
Many locals were aghast to discover one day last November that trees in the central Amu Timur Square had been felled. The large old trees, some dating to the late 19th century, made the leafy park a popular spot to stroll, play chess, or meet friends. The trees and gardens were replaced with lawns and small saplings for reasons never explained.
The square was also trimmed to increase the size of the road that rings it, and the park is now accessible by underground walkways. As a result, what had been a popular and much-loved green area has been rendered much less user-friendly.
On a larger scale, several main thoroughfares in the city center have been closed or turned into lawn-covered promenades, a source of eternal frustration to motorists who now must make wide detours for reasons that have never been explained.
There is a general sense among many Tashkent residents that personal preferences, rather than civic needs, are dictating changes. The recent alterations to Amu Timur Square, for instance, are widely believed to be linked to the gleaming new convention center that now towers over it. Zeromax, a shadowy, Swiss-registered conglomerate, built the convention center, which opened late last year.
The massive structure, constructed quickly with the help of German workers and engineers, dominates the square, and many believe that the park’s trees were felled in order to turn the new building into the centerpiece of the Tashkent skyline. Brightly lit at night, it can be seen from a kilometer away. In addition, a number of buildings around it were razed, including a large hotel that was less than 10-years-old. These structures are being replaced with new buildings whose purposes are unknown.
Another motive for recent changes, many Tashkent residents suspect, is Karimov’s preoccupation with security. This is particularly the case, they say, concerning road closures and re-routings. Another factor may have been a desire by Uzbek officials to spiffy up the city in advance of the recently held annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank. [For background see EurasiaNet's archive].
Sudden changes actually started occurring several years ago, when, without warning or explanation, a section of a large main thoroughfare that fed into the city center – passing the large Independence Square and Senate building – was ripped up and given to sod and saplings. The change required a rerouting of major trolley lines and the closing of others.
“This trend started five years ago,” said Surat Ikramov, chairman of the Initiative Group of Independent Human Rights Activists of Uzbekistan, in Tashkent, “after the events at Andijan.” [For background see EurasiaNet's archive].
“The assumption by many is that street closures are made for security purposes, but no one knows for sure,” Ikramov said, adding that the closures are never explained on state-run television news programs or elsewhere. “I don’t know why they are doing it; officially they don’t comment.” But rumors persist that the reconfiguration is based on a “fear of demonstrations and protests on those main streets.”
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