|
| Irina Malenkov |
The US has decided to set up a military base in Kyrgyzstan (Kirghizia) so as to carry on their air strikes against Afghanistan in the future, and to establish their presence after the war. Over three thousand US forces and more than two dozen war planes are to be deployed at this base.
The US daily newspaper The Washington Post" reported that even though US operations in Afghanistan are now reduced the US is engaged in working on a big plan to establish its presence in the Central Asia region, besides in Afghanistan.
The report said that due to the current attitude of Saudi Arabia over the continuing presence of US troops on its soil, it has now become essential to the US troops to set up a base in Central Asia. These actions seem contrary to what the US agreed to in a statement released after the "Russian American Working Group Afghanistan" meeting, where they stated that they were not going to permanently stay in the region. They had also agreed that at all military bases were temporary and would be removed after the completion of the present military campaign against Afghanistan.
Famous last words! Where US troops land, they seem to stay, as history has proven!
Political Crisis in Kirghizia
One of the participants of the political hunger strike died February 7th. This very famous economist, deputy chairman of the Kirghiz Human Rights Movement, Sheraly Nazarkulov, did not last the 22-day hunger strike. He fell into a coma with all his family around; he never saw his little son who was born the day before his death.
The strike started right after Kirghiz Legislative Assembly deputy Azimbek Bekhazxarov was arrested on January 5th, The protests were against the government and the elimination of human rights and criticism of the president, who secretly signed a 1996 treaty which allowed China to grab hectares of Kirghiz land and illegal exchanges of territories without consulting the parliament. All this split the population and seriously damaged president Askar Akaev's authority. All the more, the living standards of the people keep falling due to privatization and foreign investments and by-outs.
There actions by police against other patriots and jail sentences, arrests, torture and many people's disappearance are common.
Two factions in the parliament – Kyrgyzstan Communists and Communists of Kyrgyzstan have already made the president responsible for human rights violations and the human rights activists' death, but the president is keeping silent, in spite of numerous protests by the population and deputies and the hunger strike of more than 400 Kirghiz citizens.
Then there are attempts under this market economy of land grabbing by Uzbekistan and also Tajikistan. There is a demand for the president's resignation. The people openly declared that they now no longer have patience and they resolutely demand the president's resignation now. This demand was signed by 14 Deputies; this excludes any peaceful settlement of this problem. All the more that another political organization was set up by the government to muddy the waters, the Democratic Party of Kirghiz Women, which is now defending the present president.
Yuri Razgulaev
Kyrgyz army troops, supervised by US instructors held military exercises last month as part of a joint military exercises launched in the former Soviet republic in Central Asia.
The exercises were held in the mountains about 35 km from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek and it involved special Kyrgyz forces, border guards and emergency services workers. The troops were practicing fighting terrorists in mountainous terrain.
"The real purpose of these exercisers is to train for combat readiness and improve tactics of military operations in the mountains – it is important to have experience of fighting terrorists in mountainous areas," said Captain Dennis Valtes, one of the many U.S. instructors.
The country now hosts a very large contingent of both U.S. and French troops!
Is there a need to think as to what NATO is up to?
Close this page to return.