Turkmenistan’s Government Is Forcibly Demolishing Homes to Host a Martial Arts Tournament

A new report from Amnesty International claims an estimated 50,000 Turkmen have been forcibly removed from their homes in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat to make way for venues being used in the upcoming 2017 Asian indoor and Martial Arts Games (AIMAG).

The competition started in 2013 after the amalgamation of the Asian Martial Arts Games and the Asian Indoor Games. But, AIMAG still holds prestige in the Asian martial arts world with medals up for grabs in disciplines such as Judo, Ju-jitsu, Karate, Kickboxing, Muay-Thai, Taekwondo, and Kurash (wrestling)—the games even has a Wushu competition.

However, in what should be a landmark occasion for Central Asia in hosting this competition for the first time, Turkmenistan—like many other countries in the region—are continually mired in human rights controversy and AIMAG has drawn even more attention to the issues faced by the citizens of the country.

According to the report, President Berdymukhamedov has authorized the forcible evictions, with no notice and living alternatives provided, and illegal demolition of the Choganly area of the city in a late push to "beautify" Ashgabat ahead of the games. The below satellite images, courtesy of DigitalGlobe, help display the significance of the government-led flattening of Ashgabat from March 2014 to April 2015.

The government of Turkmenistan has been widely criticized for human rights abuses since the fall of the Soviet Union and new-found independence 1991—including imposing travel restrictions on its citizens without reason, as well as encouraging discrimination against its non-Turkic ethnic minorities—and are ranked third worst for press freedom in the world: only being 'beaten' by North Korea and Eritrea.

So, it was always considered an odd decision from the Olympic Council of Asia to choose Ashgabat as the host of the 2017 AIMAG: an event which sees some of the most honorable and traditional martial arts grace the big stage.

The capital city is lined with white marble buildings—an overt, grandiose cover up for the social issues its citizens face. In 2013, Ashgabat was recognized as having the Guinness World Record for having the "highest density of white marble clad buildings" in the world—with over four million meters of the stuff present. But, despite this, 30% of the Turkmenistan population is living below the poverty line according to the CIA World Factbook.

Instead of the using the games as a way to address to correct its human rights wrong-doings, the government is making things worse for the Turkmen. This doesn't exactly add up considering the comments made from Jizhong Wei, the vice president of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), who said upon the topic of Turkmenistan's poor reputation: "Democracy, human rights… In different countries they have a different interpretation. Here, the people are satisfied because the government guarantees them their quality of life. They told me they get everything from the government."

The citizens of Turkmenistan may well be dependent on their nation's hierarchy. But, that doesn't mean they can expect the regime to destroy the homes of 50,000 people for the sake of a sports tournament. The OCA's apparent lack of compassion—akin to that of FIFA turning a blind eye to human rights in Qatar—is perhaps just as concerning.