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Turkmenistan Plans to Move Dead-President Tower

Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
--P B Shelley, "Ozymandias"

Not even a giant self-portrait in sculpture can assure immortality, as fans of the late president of Turkmenistan are discovering. Saparmurat Niyazov's reign as president for life abruptly ended in 2006 with his death, and now a 246-foot-tall tower with a rotating gold statue of him at the top is facing exile from the center of the capital city of Ashgabat, says Reuters.

The new president's rationale for moving the tower, known as the Arch of Neutrality, is that it belongs on Neutrality Avenue, in the south of the city. But it's hard not to see the symbolism of removing a very prominent statue of the man who called himself "Turkmenbashi," or "Leader of all Turkmen," marking the final chapter of his 21-year reign.

Related Stories:
· Turkmenistan to Move Gold Statue [Reuters]
· Ding-Dong! The Dictator's Dead! [Jaunted]
· Turkmenistan: It's Not Kazakhstan [Jaunted]

[Photo: lonebiker2007]