According to a Turkmen Initiative of Human Rights press release out last week, the local authorities undertook an extensive demolition drive in September last year of seaside country homes in the Caspian coast town of Turkmenbashi, formerly Krasnovodsk.
Witnesses report that the buildings were destroyed by soldiers under the command of regional officials. The dachas in question were first built in the 1970s, when their owners were awarded the grounds by the local municipality. As one former resident complained:

“All at once, they have taken everything away from us. It is disgraceful that they wouldn’t even let us take away the building materials on site. We’re certain that the local authorities are acting illegally. They load all the material onto their trucks and take them away, either for themselves or to sell on. They do it right in front of us.”

The indignation was such that in November complaints were addressed to the local government, which brought about the immediate cessation of demolition. However, it seems that from January destruction of the dachas resumed, this time with bulldozers.
In justifying their actions, the authorities have cited the need for the buildings to comply with sanitary standards, though the press release states that they had previously failed to give the owners time to come in line with the required standards. Meanwhile, the aggrieved residents have suggested that they may be another explanation for the government’s behaviour. The space is allegedly being cleared for a proposed road to be built to a presidential palace in the area. The uncompensated owners testify to the financial ramifications of this action:

“This is a heavy blow to the family budget. Many people here live off the earnings made from renting out the homes in summer and autumn. There are no other means of income. More than half of the able-bodied population is unemployed. And now with many pensioners having been deprived of their pensions and their summer homes, they have been left completely without means to survive.”

As the press release concludes, Turkmen citizens appear to have no legal resort in protecting their property eights in this type of situation. Complainants seeking recourse in the courts are normally told that while they can make a report, nothing is likely to come of it.