Uzbekistan
Kyrgyzstan Nationalists Lay Minefield for International Investigation | EurasiaNet.org
21.04.2011. Category:Kyrgyzstan
What do you call suspiciously timed information that undercuts an anticipated event? Could it be propaganda?
In Kyrgyzstan's parliament, a deputy from the nationalist Ata-Jurt faction alleges that a new book – that only she has seen – claims Kyrgyz massacred Uzbeks in last summer’s ethnic violence. Her story, as these things generally are, is hard to follow. In widely reported comments from April 19,Jyldyz Joldosheva rants against the publication of The Hour of the Jackal, by “rich Uzbek nationalists.”More ...
In Kyrgyzstan's parliament, a deputy from the nationalist Ata-Jurt faction alleges that a new book – that only she has seen – claims Kyrgyz massacred Uzbeks in last summer’s ethnic violence. Her story, as these things generally are, is hard to follow. In widely reported comments from April 19,Jyldyz Joldosheva rants against the publication of The Hour of the Jackal, by “rich Uzbek nationalists.”More ...
Russia’s Rwanda
18.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
As it contemplates the violence that has claimed the lives of well over a hundred people in its backyard nation of Kyrgyzstan, Russia should look to France's experience in Central Africa for lessons. There are distinct parallels. Just as Paris maintained strong links with its former colonies across Africa, Russia has maintained its with the governments of former Soviet Republics in Central Asia. But just as Paris lost so much traction when Rwanda ignited in 1994, wrong moves in Kyrgyzstan might alter those treasured links between Moscow and Central Asia for good. More ...
Joint Letter to the UN Security Council Regarding the Ongoing Crisis in Kyrgyzsta
18.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
To: Security Council Ambassadors
Your Excellency,
We urge the United Nations Security Council to take immediate steps to address the ongoing crisis in Kyrgyzstan. With a death toll likely to reach far higher than the official count of 200 and an estimated 400,000 displaced in Kyrgyzstan and across the border in Uzbekistan, the situation poses a significant threat to international peace and security. The Kyrgyz authorities have primary responsibility for halting the violence and resolving this crisis, but reports from the ground provide ample evidence that the government is unable to protect those in need, and Kyrgyz authorities have already acknowledged that they need substantial assistance. More ...
Your Excellency,
We urge the United Nations Security Council to take immediate steps to address the ongoing crisis in Kyrgyzstan. With a death toll likely to reach far higher than the official count of 200 and an estimated 400,000 displaced in Kyrgyzstan and across the border in Uzbekistan, the situation poses a significant threat to international peace and security. The Kyrgyz authorities have primary responsibility for halting the violence and resolving this crisis, but reports from the ground provide ample evidence that the government is unable to protect those in need, and Kyrgyz authorities have already acknowledged that they need substantial assistance. More ...
Death, dictators and the Soviet legacy
18.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
It is arguable that the wave of ethnic killings in southern Kyrgyzstan that started last Saturday – which has left hundreds of Uzbeks dead and tens of thousands homeless – is, at root, the fault of Joseph Stalin. The Soviet Union was in theory just that – a union of Soviet socialist republics. Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan were three of them. But whatever the theory, Stalin had no intention of allowing the republics to become viable entities or potential power bases for rivals. So he intervened personally and the republics were deliberately messed up with boundaries that cut across natural economic units and severed cultural and ethnic links.More ...
U.S. ties to ex-Kyrgyz regime are questioned
17.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Weeks before ethnic clashes killed hundreds of people in this Central Asian republic, an audio recording was posted on YouTube that presaged the mayhem.
"We need to find 500 b—ds…and keep [the country] in a constant mess," said a voice that government officials here say was that of Maksim Bakiyev, the 32-year-old son of the ousted president. "Somebody needs to kick up a fuss."More ...
"We need to find 500 b—ds…and keep [the country] in a constant mess," said a voice that government officials here say was that of Maksim Bakiyev, the 32-year-old son of the ousted president. "Somebody needs to kick up a fuss."More ...
Russia and the crisis in Osh
17.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
As Moscow grapples with the question of whether to intervene to stop the violence in southern Kyrgyzstan, it is forced to confront a vexing issue: can Russia utilize its political and military potential to help resolve local and regional conflicts in Central Asia?More ...
A test for mutual security
17.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Politically driven ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan has already claimed more than 100 lives and threatens to erase the country’s progress toward self-government following the April ouster of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev.
It is an ominous sign that a society which had undertaken impressive reforms aimed at creating the region's first parliamentary democracy is now teetering on the brink of outright civil war and state failure.More ...
It is an ominous sign that a society which had undertaken impressive reforms aimed at creating the region's first parliamentary democracy is now teetering on the brink of outright civil war and state failure.More ...
Kyrgyz violence began with coordinated attacks -UN says
15.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Violence in Kyrgyzstan appears to have begun with five coordinated attacks and has taken on an inter-ethnic character that could spiral out of control, the U.N. human rights office warned on Tuesday.More ...
Aid starts to arrive in Kyrgyzstan as violence abates
15.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
OSH, Kyrgyzstan — A plane carrying 40 tons of flour, pasta, cooking oil and other food landed at the airport in this traumatized city on Tuesday, and citizens tentatively ventured out onto the street for the first time since spasms of ethnic violence seized the city last Thursday.More ...
Kyrgyzstan requested U.S. military aid and rubber bullets but was turned down
15.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Before Kyrgyzstan turned to Russia, it informally asked Washington for military assistance including a supply of rubber bullets to quell ethnic bloodletting in the south of the country, but was turned down, I am told by people privy to the situation. Russia says it may deploy troops if it's a collective regional decision.More ...
Kyrgyzstan unrest gives big powers cause for concern
15.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
If recent history is any guide, the ethnic violence roiling southern Kyrgyzstan is unlikely to be prolonged or to spark a wider conflagration in neighbouring Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Similar outbreaks ignited by disputes over land, food prices and poll results across the divided Fergana valley in 1990 and 2005 eventually subsided, with or without the type of foreign intervention sought at the weekend by the interim government in Bishkek.More ...
Provocateurs seen behind ethnic clash
15.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
As reported, on June 10, clashes between the ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbek population in the southern Kyrgyzstan have developed into a large-scale violence and further exodus of the Uzbeks residing in Kyrgyzstan.
Three days of pogroms have led to serious humanitarian disaster in the isolated conflict zone - the population still has limited access to telephony, electricity and food products after several nights of shooting and looting. There was a threat that the conflict could involve other regions of the Southern Kyrgyzstan, including Jalal-Abad (the former president Bakiyev's homeland), which is close to Osh, the place of initial unrest.More ...
Three days of pogroms have led to serious humanitarian disaster in the isolated conflict zone - the population still has limited access to telephony, electricity and food products after several nights of shooting and looting. There was a threat that the conflict could involve other regions of the Southern Kyrgyzstan, including Jalal-Abad (the former president Bakiyev's homeland), which is close to Osh, the place of initial unrest.More ...
Danish journalist Michael Andersen: I am ashamed that European media and politicians do not understand the tragedy in Kyrgyzstan
15.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
European media pay little attention to the tragedy in South Kyrgyzstan. They view it as an interethnic clash between nations which they know very little about. Current media interest is motivated by either national interests – European interests do not include small and poor Kyrgyzstan – or having by vivid pictures which are not widely available since Southern Kyrgyzstan cannot be easily reached by foreign correspondents. This means that in Western media, the pain and blood of Osh cannot compete with this week’s main story – the football World Cup. Danish journalist Michael Andersen informed Ferghana.Ru about the reaction of European media and politicians.More ...
Uzbeks itching to join the fight in Osh
14.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Not everyone in Uzbekistan is happy with the fairly moderate statement on the violence in Osh that Tashkent made on Saturday, saying that the violence was provoked by "forces, whose interests are totally remote from the interests of the Kyrgyz people." I talked today with Sukhrobjon Ismailov, the ace Tashkent-based analyst who told me that many people in the Uzbekistan military and security services want to intervene in Osh on the side of the Uzbeks. Ordinary Uzbeks in the Ferghana Valley are also itching to get into the fight, and many in Uzbekistan are calling what is happening in Osh a "genocide" against Uzbeks. It is Islam Karimov, Ismoilov said, who is trying to keep Uzbek emotions in check.More ...
War in Kyrgyzstan: what is causing the violence?
14.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
When the five former Soviet republics of central Asia gained their independence with the breakup of the USSR there were hopes that Kyrgyzstan might achieve a semblance of responsible rule.
This small country of 5.5 million people had a relatively developed civil society and free press. But hopes were dashed under Askar Akayev, a president accused by the opposition of nepotism, corruption and growing authoritarianism.More ...
This small country of 5.5 million people had a relatively developed civil society and free press. But hopes were dashed under Askar Akayev, a president accused by the opposition of nepotism, corruption and growing authoritarianism.More ...
Kyrgyzstan Violence: Conspiracies Abound
14.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Some random, hastily collected thoughts as a study break: Who is to blame? Who is doing the killing? Why?
These questions have been asked over and over again in regards to short episodes of violence in Central Asia since 1986, starting with the Almaty “Kunaev” riots. Other examples of violent riots/pogroms include the May 1989 attacks on Armenians in Turkmenistan, the 1989 Uzbek pogroms against Meskhets in the Ferghana valley, summer 1989 fighting between Tajiks and Kyrgyz in Isfara, the February 1990 riots in Dushanbe that left 50 dead (half of them non-Tajiks – including Slavs), summer 1990 in Osh as Uzbeks and Kyrgyz killed each other, May-September 1992 in the collective farms of the Vakhsh valley, etc….More ...
These questions have been asked over and over again in regards to short episodes of violence in Central Asia since 1986, starting with the Almaty “Kunaev” riots. Other examples of violent riots/pogroms include the May 1989 attacks on Armenians in Turkmenistan, the 1989 Uzbek pogroms against Meskhets in the Ferghana valley, summer 1989 fighting between Tajiks and Kyrgyz in Isfara, the February 1990 riots in Dushanbe that left 50 dead (half of them non-Tajiks – including Slavs), summer 1990 in Osh as Uzbeks and Kyrgyz killed each other, May-September 1992 in the collective farms of the Vakhsh valley, etc….More ...
Kyrgyzstan death toll rises as ethnic slaughter continues
14.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Sporadic gunfire continued through the night and fresh fires raged in southern Kyrgyzstan today, as the country's worst ethnic violence in decades showed no signs of abating.
The official death toll reached 117, with 1,500 hurt, the health ministry announced this morning. Thousands have already fled the country.
Accounts from international aid agencies and other witnesses suggest the real toll could be much higher: the Red Cross has said its delegates witnessed about 100 bodies being buried in one cemetery.
An ethnic Uzbek woman at the border of Uzbekistan after fleeing the riots in southern Kyrgyzstan. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesMore ...
The official death toll reached 117, with 1,500 hurt, the health ministry announced this morning. Thousands have already fled the country.
Accounts from international aid agencies and other witnesses suggest the real toll could be much higher: the Red Cross has said its delegates witnessed about 100 bodies being buried in one cemetery.
An ethnic Uzbek woman at the border of Uzbekistan after fleeing the riots in southern Kyrgyzstan. Photograph: AFP/Getty ImagesMore ...
Osh burning again
14.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Registan is naturally from the top of the information food chain when it comes to the situation in Kyrgyzstan. Reading these stories, along with our own attempts to parse meaning and motive from ethnicity and criminality, I’m struck by the lack of information available to anyone at all. Whatever the cause, the violence is approaching a state of chaos.
New fires raged Monday across Osh — the second-largest city that’s on the border with Uzbekistan, and where food and water were becoming scarce. Armed looters smashed stores, stealing anything from televisions to food.
No police could be seen on the streets, though authorities insisted some of the improvised checkpoints dotted around the city of 250,000 were theirs.
Cars stolen from ethnic Uzbeks raced around the city, most crowded with young Kyrgyz wielding sharpened sticks, axes and metal rods.
In some parts of Osh, Kyrgyz residents protected homes housing both Kyrgyz and Uzbek.
In another city beset by violence, Jalal-Abad, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, armed Kyrgyz amassed at the central square. Their stated goal was to travel to the nearby Uzbek settlement of Suzak in search of an Uzbek community leader they blame for starting the trouble.
The Uzbek border is just 3 miles (5 kilometers) from Osh. Uzbek refugees were mostly elderly people, women and children, with younger men staying behind to defend their property. Some were fired on as they fled.
Internet news stories seem to have the news only as it gets edited and regurgitated from the forum and twitter feeds, and who knows how reliable any of those is? Without people on the ground or a government in power, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to describe the situation, let alone hope for a quick and merciful end to the violence.
The military presence is clearly not enough, as a military patrol in Jalalabad was almost hi-jacked by gangs of Kyrgyz men. Even though the military has been given permission (or shall I say ordered?) to fire on sight any and all violent looters, there are allegations that the military refuses to fire on fellow Kyrgyz men. It doesn’t take much more than this to make people start using the G-word.
But there may yet be a reckoning for some of those responsible, as “The commandant of Jalalabad Kubatbek Baibolov said that the authorities managed to apprehend one of the suspects alleged to have organized and carried out the mass ethnic riots in Osh.” (another link to that story, also Russian and one more from the BBC in Russian) The suspect will be charged also with attempting to overthrow the government, suggesting some connection with the government’s accusations that Bakiev & Co. are behind the riots. Perhaps even a Bakiev brother?
“You could say that it is well-known political figure.”
Registan
New fires raged Monday across Osh — the second-largest city that’s on the border with Uzbekistan, and where food and water were becoming scarce. Armed looters smashed stores, stealing anything from televisions to food.
No police could be seen on the streets, though authorities insisted some of the improvised checkpoints dotted around the city of 250,000 were theirs.
Cars stolen from ethnic Uzbeks raced around the city, most crowded with young Kyrgyz wielding sharpened sticks, axes and metal rods.
In some parts of Osh, Kyrgyz residents protected homes housing both Kyrgyz and Uzbek.
In another city beset by violence, Jalal-Abad, about 25 miles (40 kilometers) away, armed Kyrgyz amassed at the central square. Their stated goal was to travel to the nearby Uzbek settlement of Suzak in search of an Uzbek community leader they blame for starting the trouble.
The Uzbek border is just 3 miles (5 kilometers) from Osh. Uzbek refugees were mostly elderly people, women and children, with younger men staying behind to defend their property. Some were fired on as they fled.
Internet news stories seem to have the news only as it gets edited and regurgitated from the forum and twitter feeds, and who knows how reliable any of those is? Without people on the ground or a government in power, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to describe the situation, let alone hope for a quick and merciful end to the violence.
The military presence is clearly not enough, as a military patrol in Jalalabad was almost hi-jacked by gangs of Kyrgyz men. Even though the military has been given permission (or shall I say ordered?) to fire on sight any and all violent looters, there are allegations that the military refuses to fire on fellow Kyrgyz men. It doesn’t take much more than this to make people start using the G-word.
But there may yet be a reckoning for some of those responsible, as “The commandant of Jalalabad Kubatbek Baibolov said that the authorities managed to apprehend one of the suspects alleged to have organized and carried out the mass ethnic riots in Osh.” (another link to that story, also Russian and one more from the BBC in Russian) The suspect will be charged also with attempting to overthrow the government, suggesting some connection with the government’s accusations that Bakiev & Co. are behind the riots. Perhaps even a Bakiev brother?
“You could say that it is well-known political figure.”
Registan
Kyrgyzstan erupts into ethnic war
14.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan was tonight in the grip of a bloody ethnic war after rioting that erupted four days ago in the southern city of Osh spread rapidly to other areas, with gun battles raging between Kyrgyz and Uzbek youths.More ...
Ethnic Uzbeks tell of slaughter in Kyrgyz city
14.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Ethnic Uzbeks said Kyrgyz gangs were carrying out genocide on Sunday in besieged neighbourhoods of Kyrgyzstan's second city Osh, burning residents out of their homes and shooting them as they fled.More ...
Uzbek foreign ministry confident Bishkek can cope
13.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan's struggling interrim government is trying to handle the growing humanitarian crisis ensuing from Kyrgyz-Uzbek clashes in the southern Kyrgyz towns of Osh and Jalal-Abad. The death toll in clashes from the last 3 days is now at 84 with 1,117 wounded, AKIpress.orgreports. While Uzbekistan has issued a statement condemning the violence and expressing confidence that Kyrgyzstan will cope on its own, Tashkent has sent troops to the Kyrgyz-Uzbek border to help strengthen security, 24.kg has reported.More ...
Kyrgyzstan closes borders as death toll mounts
13.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan has closed its borders with China, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, as the death toll inarmed clashes between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in the Kyrgyz city of Osh reached 50, with 650 more wounded, regnum.ru reported June 12. The border with Kazakhstan remains open. A state of emergency has been declared in the cities of Osh and Uzgen and also Aravan and Karassu districts of Osh region.
A key factor in the clashes between "the political elite of Kyrgyzstan" and leaders of the ethnic Uzbek population in the south is the status of the Uzbek language, the independent online Uzbek news service ferghana.ru reported. On June 1, two weeks after clashes broke out in Jalalal-Abad, members of the Uzbek national center in Osh distributed an appeal protesting what they termed "the violation of the rights of Uzbeks on the use of their native language."
The authors of the appeal say there are about one million ethnic Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan, which they consider their "historic homeland." The Uzbeks complained that there was a lack of television broadcasting on the state channels KTR and ElTR in their native language. The draft constitution, the subject of a referendum to be held June 27, does not mention that Uzbek language, says ferghana.ru.
Efforts have been made to poll citizens on their attitude toward multilingualism in Kyrgyzstan but observers say that various media in different languages will tend to skew the results of such polls, making them untrustworthy. Uzbeks have also complained of a lack of representation in local governing bodies. Local politicians don't believe lack of minority representation is a problem, but they may not be acknowleding the growth of the Uzbek population, say observers.
Vakhidjan Ergashev, a businessman and public figure in Jalal-Abad, says:
The authorities simply try not to publicize the real figures of the growth of the Uzbek language. Why, for example, are figures missing on the ethnic breakdown of the population by region? In fact, such an analysis would immediately highlight places densely populated with Uzbeks, whose numbers in reality are growing faster than they officially appear on paper.
Asylbek Keshikbayev, an expert on state and regional development says as the native Kyrgyz-language population migrates from the region, ethnic Uzbeks or refugees have moved in. Independent journalist Aleksandr Kulinsky says Kyrgyzstan has not done anything since the 1990s to integrate the Uzbeks into the ruling structures of the country, and now faces the reality that the Uzbek population is significantly larger than the Kyrgyz in the south, ferghana.ru reported. Some observers have called the situation in the south of Kyrgyzstan "a second Kosovo," as the minority population grows, and feels its language issues are unresolved.
Human rights activists from the Foundation for International Tolerance have conducted meetings recently in the region and called for removing the line indicating "nationality," or ethnicity from the Kyrgyz passport in order to reduce discrimination.
In a separate development, Uzbek border guards have cut off Arnasai, a village near Kazakhstan's southern border with Uzbekistan which became an exclave surrounded by Uzbek territory after delimitation of the Kazakh-Uzbek border some years ago, Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe reported. Some families are reportedly running out of drinking water due to the blockade, imposed June 7, Arnasai village governor Basymbek Kalzhigitov told journalists. Kazakh officials are currently in talks on the situation with Uzbek counterparts, who have not explained their actions.
Eurasianet
A key factor in the clashes between "the political elite of Kyrgyzstan" and leaders of the ethnic Uzbek population in the south is the status of the Uzbek language, the independent online Uzbek news service ferghana.ru reported. On June 1, two weeks after clashes broke out in Jalalal-Abad, members of the Uzbek national center in Osh distributed an appeal protesting what they termed "the violation of the rights of Uzbeks on the use of their native language."
The authors of the appeal say there are about one million ethnic Uzbeks in Kyrgyzstan, which they consider their "historic homeland." The Uzbeks complained that there was a lack of television broadcasting on the state channels KTR and ElTR in their native language. The draft constitution, the subject of a referendum to be held June 27, does not mention that Uzbek language, says ferghana.ru.
Efforts have been made to poll citizens on their attitude toward multilingualism in Kyrgyzstan but observers say that various media in different languages will tend to skew the results of such polls, making them untrustworthy. Uzbeks have also complained of a lack of representation in local governing bodies. Local politicians don't believe lack of minority representation is a problem, but they may not be acknowleding the growth of the Uzbek population, say observers.
Vakhidjan Ergashev, a businessman and public figure in Jalal-Abad, says:
The authorities simply try not to publicize the real figures of the growth of the Uzbek language. Why, for example, are figures missing on the ethnic breakdown of the population by region? In fact, such an analysis would immediately highlight places densely populated with Uzbeks, whose numbers in reality are growing faster than they officially appear on paper.
Asylbek Keshikbayev, an expert on state and regional development says as the native Kyrgyz-language population migrates from the region, ethnic Uzbeks or refugees have moved in. Independent journalist Aleksandr Kulinsky says Kyrgyzstan has not done anything since the 1990s to integrate the Uzbeks into the ruling structures of the country, and now faces the reality that the Uzbek population is significantly larger than the Kyrgyz in the south, ferghana.ru reported. Some observers have called the situation in the south of Kyrgyzstan "a second Kosovo," as the minority population grows, and feels its language issues are unresolved.
Human rights activists from the Foundation for International Tolerance have conducted meetings recently in the region and called for removing the line indicating "nationality," or ethnicity from the Kyrgyz passport in order to reduce discrimination.
In a separate development, Uzbek border guards have cut off Arnasai, a village near Kazakhstan's southern border with Uzbekistan which became an exclave surrounded by Uzbek territory after delimitation of the Kazakh-Uzbek border some years ago, Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe reported. Some families are reportedly running out of drinking water due to the blockade, imposed June 7, Arnasai village governor Basymbek Kalzhigitov told journalists. Kazakh officials are currently in talks on the situation with Uzbek counterparts, who have not explained their actions.
Eurasianet
Violence may spread beyond Osh
12.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
The flaring of ethnic conflict in Kyrgyzstan, the worst violence since the April revolution, is currently confined to the southern city of Osh but ACT Alliance members fear it may spread to other parts of the country and beyond, in a region ACT describes as an often forgotten corner of the world.
Tatiana Kotova, of the ACT Central Asia Forum, speaking from the capital Bishkek, said that fighting between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks could easily escalate.More ...
Tatiana Kotova, of the ACT Central Asia Forum, speaking from the capital Bishkek, said that fighting between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks could easily escalate.More ...
Kyrgyzstan appeals for outside help as death toll rises
12.06.2010. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan has appealed for outside help to quell rioting and interethnic violence that has claimed at least 51 lives in the south of the country.
Interim leader Roza Otunbaeva told reporters today she has sent a letter to the Russian government asking Moscow to help resolve the ongoing conflict in Osh, and that she welcomed help from other countries. More ...
Interim leader Roza Otunbaeva told reporters today she has sent a letter to the Russian government asking Moscow to help resolve the ongoing conflict in Osh, and that she welcomed help from other countries. More ...
US exploring new routes to Afghanistan
02.02.2010. Category:Central Asia
The United States is exploring the idea of expanding the Northern Distribution Network (NDN), a supply line for US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, by adding a Chinese branch. Sources familiar with the NDN tell EurasiaNet that US officials are also considering the possibility of seeking a sea-and-land route utilizing ports in the Russian Far East.More ...
NATO and Kazakhstan reach transit pact for Afghanistan
27.01.2010. Category:Kazakhstan
NATO and Kazakhstan completed an agreement on Wednesday that will permit NATO allies to ship cargo through Kazakh territory to Afghanistan, providing an important alternative to vulnerable routes elsewhere.More ...
Open letter to the Chairman of the German Social Democrats
26.03.2009. Category:Central Asia
Probably only for insiders in Germany and Switzerland: The Chairman of the SPD, Franz Muentefering, said recently that the German Army could invade in Switzerland, in order to get an agreement on opening the Swiss bank secret for the German fiscal authorities. Although he of course did not intend to do so (strange kind of humour), a huge discussion began in the German and Swiss press.
A specialist on Central Asia wrote an open letter to Chairman Muentefering, which we would like to publish here (sorry, only in German). If you need a rough translation, let us know.More ...
A specialist on Central Asia wrote an open letter to Chairman Muentefering, which we would like to publish here (sorry, only in German). If you need a rough translation, let us know.More ...
US moves suggest Afghan NATO supply-route talks with Kyrgyzstan
20.02.2009. Category:Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan's eviction of U.S. forces from an air base in the country was already seen as a setback for NATO's efforts to expand its presence in Afghanistan.
That's because the air base at Manas, whose lease to the U.S. forces came closer to ending with Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev signing off on a parliamentary bill calling for their eviction, has long served as a key staging post for the alliance's military operations in Afghanistan.
Bakiev's signature is the final step before Kyrgyz authorities issue a notice that will give the United States 180 days to vacate the facility, used as a transit point for 15,000 troops and some 500 tons of cargo each month to and from Afghanistan.
Now, defense ministers from NATO countries meeting for a second day in Krakow, Poland, will have to address another setback: The government in Pakistan's Punjab Province has cancelled a private deal on a new supply terminal for overland NATO deliveries into Afghanistan from the port city of Karachi. They say the deal was cancelled because of security concerns.
The main land route into landlocked Afghanistan passes through Pakistan's lawless Khyber tribal region and another land crossing through the southwest province of Baluchistan. Regional insurgency is rife in those areas and pro-Taliban militants have been focusing attacks on bridges, terminals, and even convoys of NATO supply trucks.
Alternative Routes
With the pressure growing on NATO's logistical support, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirmed at the NATO gathering in Krakow that Washington is now in talks with several other countries about alternative supply routes that would replace Manas.
Still, Gates suggested that talks on the future of the base are still open and that there could be negotiations with Bishkek about the amount of money paid for maintaining a U.S. presence at Manas.
He told reporters in Krakow on February 19 that the Pentagon is looking to see if there is justification for Bishkek to receive a larger payment. But he said Washington was "not going to be ridiculous about it."
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are possible alternatives. U.S. Rear Admiral Mark Harnitchek has been in Dushanbe for talks with Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi on the issue.
Harnitchek said in Dushanbe on February 19 that Tajikistan has agreed in principle to the use of its railways and roads for the transit of "nonlethal" military supplies into Afghanistan:
"Clearly any nation that shares a border with Afghanistan is important, and because the distance to our bases in Afghanistan is likely the shortest from Tajikistan, so by extension, Tajikistan is very important," Harnitchek said.
Harnitchek also said Uzbekistan has agreed to the transit of cargo and that the Pentagon plans to send 50 to 200 cargo containers each week from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan and then by land into Afghanistan.
But U.S. officials are emphasizing that no formal agreement has been signed yet.
Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry has declined to comment on whether it had approved the transit of NATO supplies across its territory. General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. military's Central Command, visited Uzbekistan on February 17 in what appears to have been an attempt to seek the use of the country as a transit route for supplies in Afghanistan.
Moscow Give And Take
Kyrgyz President Bakiev announced the pending closure of Manas earlier this month, complaining the United States was not paying enough rent for the base. His announcement came shortly after he secured $2.15 billion in aid and loans from Russia during a visit to Moscow.
That has led some observers to conclude that the Kremlin has had a hand in instigating the closure of Manas. But Russia also has offered the use of its railroad network for the overland transport of nonlethal military supplies into Afghanistan.
Patrick Moon, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, said in Helsinki this week that the route would carry cargo from Latvia through Russia and Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan -- and eventually on to Afghanistan. He said the first trains could carry that cargo before the end of February.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of NATO defense ministers' meeting in Krakow, Gates warned that Moscow is trying to "have it both ways" by offering help in Afghanistan and undermining U.S. efforts there at the same time.
Gates also has sought to downplay the significance of Manas, saying that it is import but not irreplaceable.
Analysts see those remarks, and moves by the Pentagon to seek alternative supply routes, as a sign that price negotiations are still under way between Washington and Bishkek on the use of Manas.
Source: RFE/RL
That's because the air base at Manas, whose lease to the U.S. forces came closer to ending with Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev signing off on a parliamentary bill calling for their eviction, has long served as a key staging post for the alliance's military operations in Afghanistan.
Bakiev's signature is the final step before Kyrgyz authorities issue a notice that will give the United States 180 days to vacate the facility, used as a transit point for 15,000 troops and some 500 tons of cargo each month to and from Afghanistan.
Now, defense ministers from NATO countries meeting for a second day in Krakow, Poland, will have to address another setback: The government in Pakistan's Punjab Province has cancelled a private deal on a new supply terminal for overland NATO deliveries into Afghanistan from the port city of Karachi. They say the deal was cancelled because of security concerns.
The main land route into landlocked Afghanistan passes through Pakistan's lawless Khyber tribal region and another land crossing through the southwest province of Baluchistan. Regional insurgency is rife in those areas and pro-Taliban militants have been focusing attacks on bridges, terminals, and even convoys of NATO supply trucks.
Alternative Routes
With the pressure growing on NATO's logistical support, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirmed at the NATO gathering in Krakow that Washington is now in talks with several other countries about alternative supply routes that would replace Manas.
Still, Gates suggested that talks on the future of the base are still open and that there could be negotiations with Bishkek about the amount of money paid for maintaining a U.S. presence at Manas.
He told reporters in Krakow on February 19 that the Pentagon is looking to see if there is justification for Bishkek to receive a larger payment. But he said Washington was "not going to be ridiculous about it."
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are possible alternatives. U.S. Rear Admiral Mark Harnitchek has been in Dushanbe for talks with Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi on the issue.
Harnitchek said in Dushanbe on February 19 that Tajikistan has agreed in principle to the use of its railways and roads for the transit of "nonlethal" military supplies into Afghanistan:
"Clearly any nation that shares a border with Afghanistan is important, and because the distance to our bases in Afghanistan is likely the shortest from Tajikistan, so by extension, Tajikistan is very important," Harnitchek said.
Harnitchek also said Uzbekistan has agreed to the transit of cargo and that the Pentagon plans to send 50 to 200 cargo containers each week from Uzbekistan to Tajikistan and then by land into Afghanistan.
But U.S. officials are emphasizing that no formal agreement has been signed yet.
Uzbekistan's Foreign Ministry has declined to comment on whether it had approved the transit of NATO supplies across its territory. General David Petraeus, the head of the U.S. military's Central Command, visited Uzbekistan on February 17 in what appears to have been an attempt to seek the use of the country as a transit route for supplies in Afghanistan.
Moscow Give And Take
Kyrgyz President Bakiev announced the pending closure of Manas earlier this month, complaining the United States was not paying enough rent for the base. His announcement came shortly after he secured $2.15 billion in aid and loans from Russia during a visit to Moscow.
That has led some observers to conclude that the Kremlin has had a hand in instigating the closure of Manas. But Russia also has offered the use of its railroad network for the overland transport of nonlethal military supplies into Afghanistan.
Patrick Moon, the assistant U.S. secretary of state for South and Central Asian affairs, said in Helsinki this week that the route would carry cargo from Latvia through Russia and Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan -- and eventually on to Afghanistan. He said the first trains could carry that cargo before the end of February.
Meanwhile, on the sidelines of NATO defense ministers' meeting in Krakow, Gates warned that Moscow is trying to "have it both ways" by offering help in Afghanistan and undermining U.S. efforts there at the same time.
Gates also has sought to downplay the significance of Manas, saying that it is import but not irreplaceable.
Analysts see those remarks, and moves by the Pentagon to seek alternative supply routes, as a sign that price negotiations are still under way between Washington and Bishkek on the use of Manas.
Source: RFE/RL
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