New Kyrgyzstan Rulers Aim to Shut US Base

[MarketNeutral]

The new government of Kyrgyzstan, installed yesterday evening after ousting US-backed President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, today thanked Russia for the support provided in their uprising, and promised to see the US base at Manas shuttered.

Comments from the new government seemed to fly in the face of those made by top Obama Administration official Michael McFaul, who pointedly denied that the Russians had anything to do with the regime change and insisted that the US and Russia were in talks aimed at calming the situation.

But Russia has already recognized the new government, while the US has simply said it remains unclear who is in charge. Russian PM Vladimir Putin has spoken directly with the new de facto leader, former Foreign Minister Roza Otunbayeva, and pledged to supply Russian humanitarian aid to the nation.

Both Russia and the United States have military bases in the small nation, a comparative rarity for the two major powers. The US recently secured a new lease on the Manas base from Bakiyev, though it came with a major increase in rent.

That base could be in serious jeopardy, however, as Russia adds troops at its base and the US curbs flights. Many of the leaders in the new government have been critical of the US for backing Bazkiyev, and at least one member, Omurbek Tekebayev, said that there should be only one foreign base in the nation, a Russian one.
http://news.antiwar.com/2010/04/08/new-kyrgyz-regime-backs-russia-vows-to-shutter-us-base/print/

[MarketNeutral]

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/04/08/russia-sends-paratroopers-air-base-kyrgyzstan/

Russia is sending paratroopers to its Kant military base in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan as the Kremlin gave its support for the self-declared provisional government, Russian news service Ria Novosti reported Thursday.

The approximately 150 paratroopers' goal is to protect the families of Russian military staff in Kyrgyzstan, Ria Novosti quoted General Staff chief Nikolay Makarov, after protests in the capital of Bishkek left dozens dead and hundreds wounded.

"The president has decided to send two companies of paratroopers there and some 150 people have arrived in Kant," Makarov, who is with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Prague for the signing of a new arms deal with the U.S., was quoted.

The Russian airbase was put on high alert, according to Defense Ministry sources, while the U.S. said its Manas airbase in Kyrgyzstan is continuing to function.

Russia's Kant base, 12 miles east of Bishkek, has been operating since 2003 and has some 400 Russian military personnel.

Russia is supporting the new provisional Kyrgyz government, opposition protesters who took power in the capital and several other regions in the ex-Soviet republic, according to Ria Novosti. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reportedly spoke to the new opposition premier, Roza Otunbayeva, who requested economic support from Russia.

"It is important to note that the conversation was held with Otunbayeva in her capacity as the head of a national confidence government," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Ria Novosti.

Russia is ready to assist Kyrgyzstan with humanitarian aid.

Otunbayeva, the former foreign minister, said parliament was dissolved and she would head the interim government. She said the new government controlled four of the seven provinces and called on President Kurmanbek Bakiyev to resign. She said he had fled Bishkek to seek support in the central Jalal-Abad region.

Thousands of protesters have clashed with security forces throughout the country in the last two days, driving out local governments and seizing government headquarters.

Otunbayeva told a press conference the provisional government will work for six months to stabilize the situation, prepare changes in the constitution and hold presidential elections.

Since coming to power in 2005 amid street protests known as the Tulip Revolution, Bakiyev had ensured a measure of stability, but the opposition said he did so at the expense of democratic standards while enriching himself and his family.

He gave his relatives, including his son, top government and economic posts and faced the same accusations of corruption and cronyism that led to the ouster of his predecessor, Askar Akayev. Many protesters were also outraged at huge hikes in prices for electricity and gas heating that went into effect in January.

[MarketNeutral]

Kyrgyzstan Revolution Threatens Afghanistan War’s Premier Air Hub

Kyrgyzstan has entered a phase of uncertainty with a new opposition-led government in place following two days of street clashes between police and anti-government protestors. Some opposition leaders have called for the closure of a U.S. airbase in the country that is a supply link for its operations in Afghanistan.

A former Kyrgyz foreign minister, Roza Otunbayeva, told CNN on Wednesday that she is now in charge of an interim government following the apparent overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The whereabouts of President Bakiyev is unknown but unverified reports have suggested he might be in the southern city of Osh, or in Manas airbase, the base used by the U.S. military.

Thousands of people took to the streets in major cities across the country over the last two days, protesting against corruption and increasing utility costs. The protests turned violent, especially in the capital Bishkek on Wednesday, where nearly 40 people were killed and 400 other injured, according to ministry of health sources. However, opposition leaders told the Associated Press that 100 people have been killed.

Anti-government demonstrators have reportedly seized the state security headquarters and television as well as other institutions, in what opposition leaders have called a new revolution.

The interim leader, Otunbayeva, is a seasoned politician who was a foreign minister before the country’s Tulip Revolution five years ago. She also served in various positions during the Soviet era, including ambassador to Malaysia.

Political turmoil is nothing new to Kyrgyzstan. In 2005, Kyrgyz protestors toppled the government of Askar Akayev following disputed parliamentary elections. Akayev’s ouster was due to deep public dissatisfaction with corruption and authoritarianism in his government. He had ruled the country since its independence after the Soviet Union’s collapse in 1990.

The news of ongoing unrest in the central Asian republic has been received with concern by Washington. The U.S. embassy in Bishkek said it was "deeply concerned" about "civil disturbances" in the country, in a statement released on Wednesday.

Saying that the situation in Kyrgyzstan was "still very fluid", John Kerry, the chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, expressed "regret for the loss of life" in the country and called on all sides to be "calm and refrain from violence". He called upon Kyrgyz parties to address the "underlying political, economic and social issues" in a "transparent process that brings stability and fundamental rights to all."

The U.S. State Department said that transport operations at the Manas military installation outside Bishkek have been "functioning normally." The U.S. military has used the base over the past several years as a staging post for its operations in Afghanistan. Despite the call for the base’s closure by opposition leaders reportedly in charge now, it remains to be seen whether the new government will take practical steps toward that end.

There are worries in the U.S. that the new opposition-led government may increase the rent for Manas base by renegotiating the terms of its agreement with the U.S., according to Foreign Policy’s Cable blog. Such a renegotiation, Cable said, may offer Russia an opportunity to influence an agreement over the base.

Last year, the country’s parliament, in which opposition parties had a powerful presence, voted to close the base due to a failure of U.S. and Kyrgyz governments to agree on a higher rent for the facility. According to some reports, Bishkek’s decision to close the base had been motivated by a promise of a lucrative aid package from Russia.

Moscow has been increasingly concerned about the U.S. military’s prolonged stay on its neighbor’s soil.

But after President Barack Obama’s personal intervention, Washington agreed to triple the rent from less than 20 million dollars per year to 60 million. Kyrgyzstan renewed the contract but renamed the base a "transit center" and imposed a condition on the U.S. to use the Manas base for the transit of "non-lethal" goods to Afghanistan.

Some have speculated about a possible Russian role in the current situation in Kyrgyzstan. Russia had reportedly caused a spike in gasoline and fuel prices in Kyrgyzstan by imposing new customs duties on petroleum products exported to the small central Asian nation.

"Many political experts in Bishkek believe Moscow is punishing Bakiyev for his administration’s failure to evict American forces from the Manas air base," David Trilling and Chinghiz Umetov wrote Tuesday in the New York-based EurasiaNet, a news and analysis website on Eurasian nations.

President Bakiyev, who was initially known as a pro-U.S. figure, started to play Moscow and Washington against each other. Although he came to power following the Tulip Revolution with a promise of democratic and transparent governance, he soon started to turn Kyrgyzstan into a one-party state.

The country was run by a small clique of President Bakiyev and his relatives, sparking widespread frustration among Kyrgyz. In recent months, the government had increased its crackdown on the opposition and its media.

Kyrgyzstan, one of the poorest republics of the former Soviet Union, has been an economically impoverished nation since its independence in 1990s.

http://www.ipsnews.net/index.asp

[mick silver]

thanks for the read .. it look like the us was giving the crooks who ran the gov there alot of money and non went to the people

[I am me, I am free]

That lil' boost ('rent' for the use of Manas AFB, which btw also serves as the main civilian airport, Manas Int'l Airport) from the USG/MIC is probably what gave that previous govt. the edge to stay in power.

You tax dollars are work! Now doesn't that make you all warm and fuzzy?

So good to see you posting MN.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/Bishkek_airport.JPG

[DMac]

Chaos in Bishkek (http://russianscoop.blogspot.com/2010/04/chaos-in-bishkek.html)


Looting and arson of retail outlets and VIP homes continues in Bishkek. A neighborhood housing foreign diplomats has been ransacked, as have the homes of the deposed prime minister and the president's son. The national art museum is said to have been looted. City police have successfully defended their headquarters against an angry mob of several thousand. Shots have been heard throughout the city through all of last night and all day long today. As in 2005, the main culprits seem to be poor, recent arrivals to the city as well as village dwellers who traveled into town overnight on buses or other commandeered vehicles, taking advantage of the political chaos and police disorganization to grab whatever they can, including weapons. Some of the looters are said to be moving from neighborhood to neighborhood in organized fashion, on buses, en masse. They are being opposed by several thousand spontaneously organized, partially-armed civilian volunteer militia (identified by red, blue, or white armbands) and shopkeepers defending their property as well as any police willing and able to remain on duty. Firefights between looters and defenders are occurring as frequently as several times per hour. The casualty toll from yesterday's political events, before today's battle over property, has reached 75 dead and 1000 injured. A more recent figure is not available. People are standing in line at hospitals to donate blood. Army units are said to be arriving into town at this time.

President Bakiev and his ruling family are confirmed as hiding out in their southern hometown of Osh, the country's second largest city. Bakiev has made a statement in which he refused to renounce his post, but claimed to be willing to stand a fair trial. His recalcitrance could become a major problem, as the previously-deposed ruling family fled the country during the 2005 revolution, making things easier for the new government.

The security forces are said to have pledged their loyalty to the provisional government. Political exiles are returning from Europe and the USA at this time, presumably through Kazakhstan as the Bishkek airport is said to be closed. Russia has recognized the provisional government. The USA has not, although U.S. Embassy staff are said to be in talks with the new leaders.

Access to the Youtube website has been blocked in Kazakhstan, presumably to prevent the population from getting any ideas about how to uninstall their own government. Official media in Uzbekistan have not reported on Kyrgyz events at all.

Photos of looted and gutted Bishkek stores and buildings:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/36159494@N03/sets/72157623677470917/

[Apparition]

Bravo! :D

I'd love to see the warmongering administration and its cronies begging the Kyrgyz govt. not to do such a thing.

[DMac]

Thousands of Protesters Clash with Police in Kyrgyzstan

VOAvideo — April 08, 2010 — Thousands of protesters in Kyrgyzstan clashed with police in the capital, Bishkek, Wednesday, and there are reports of violence in other cities. Kyrgyz officials say at least 40 are dead. The opposition puts the death toll at more than 100. Opposition leaders say they have formed a new government and are negotiating with President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. VOA's Carolyn Presutti has more.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NhlMCPb4ZM8