5 Maji residents are continuing their protest today by gathering before the PM’s Office to hold the government responsible for the demolition of their homes. Protestors are asking for clarity and transparency when it comes to the process of their expropriation. The majority are afraid of losing their homeownership rights, accusing the government of treating them as illegals.
Citizens from other neighborhoods like Lapraka and Paskuqan have also joined the protest as they fear that the same thing could happen to them as well.
The City’s recent plans to build a new road axis that passes through these neighborhoods could mean that very soon, it could be their turn to give up on their homes in exchange for some form of compensation which they fear could be unreasonable.
5 Maji residents staged their first protest on January 19, when the state-ordered demolition operation was first executed, forcing citizens out of their homes. Close to 500 homes will be demolished as part of the City’s new project.
The government’s reasoning for these demolitions ranges from the need to reconstruct these homes due to damages presumably caused by the 2019 earthquake, all the way to the City’s plans to redevelop the area and build an entirely new neighborhood to replace the old one.
Residents claim that they’ve been forced out of their homes without signing a contract that would guarantee that they will become homeowners in this new neighborhood. They claim that they’ve been treated unfairly and many say they’ve become homeless as a result.
Last week, 5 Maji residents protested before the Parliament building and the US and EU embassies in the capital city.
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