
The Aftermath of the Kyrgyz Revolution - The Lesser Players - Part 2
Dr. John Daly
That said, interest in events in Bishkek extend far beyond
But Chinese investment, unlike American and Russian, suffered from a major drawback – a lack of military bases “flying the flag” to safeguard those interests. Speaking in November last year, Kyrgyz First Deputy Prime Minister Akylbek Japarov stated that Kyrgyzstan despite Beijing’s preferred investment policies expected Chinese companies to endow the Kyrgyz economy without state guarantees, adding the hope that with the assistance of Chinese partners, Chinese FDI in Kyrgyzstan would increase to $1 billion. According to Chinese data, the trade turnover between the two countries reached $7.33 billion in 2008, four times more than in 2006.
While there were no casualties among the estimated 30,000 Chinese nationals living in
On 8 April
Chinese academics also weighed in on
In the interim, the new provisional government considers
The reasons for such statements are the
In a sign of its growing regional economic power, last June in Ekaterinburg Chinese President Hu Jintao, pledged $10 billion in aid to the SCO Central Asian member nations of
From its side
Major Indian exports to include wool, cotton, leather goods, handicrafts, machinery and instruments, cosmetics and toiletries, while major Indian imports from
On 9 April
Like neighboring Tajikistan Kazakhstan has closed its border with
In an interview with Evron’ius television channel, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev observed, “The Kyrgyz Republic is our neighbor. I watch these events with great sadness. I’m just sorry that the fraternal Kyrgyz people, who are so close to us, have permanently entered such an abyss.”
Last week Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov said that
More interesting, on 9 April Air Astana suspended its four scheduled weekly services between the capital Almaty and Bishkek with service scheduled to resume on 19 April, subject to tightened security. Air Astana President Peter Foster said, “Air Astana will do everything possible to help passengers that are stranded in Almaty/Bishkek because of political situation in
What makes Air Astana's action so noteworthy is that
Kazakh Senate deputy speaker Zhanybek Karibzhanov is currently in Bishkek representing
What is increasingly obvious is that
It is quite a heady assignment for Karibzhanov, Deputy Speaker of
The same day on the other wide of the world the Kyrgyz news agency 24.kg reported that Nazarbayev, in Washington for a nuclear conference, during discussions with President Obama offered the U.S. the possibility of opening a military base on its territory, an offer reportedly confirmed by Michael McFaul, a special assistant to President Obama for Russia, Eurasia and Caucasus affairs, who added that “The leaders discussed a possibility of the US troops to fly in Afghanistan through the North Pole and territory of Kazakhstan from the US, that is more convenient than flights through Europe.”
Tajik government limited its official comments to events, only calling the crisis
Interestingly, in
Sayfullo Safarov, deputy director of the Centre for Strategic Studies under the Tajik president, analyzed events in neighboring
Both
Uzbekistan has yet to make any official statement on the unrest in Kyrgyzstan, but on 9 April Uzbekistan’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement announcing the closing of the Uzbekistan-Kyrgyzstan border, because the government hoped to avoid the spreading of riots into Uzbekistan proper, commenting, “Uzbekistan’s government has to take steps to tighten the border crossing regime,” which Tashkent regarded as a prudent measure, as both IMU elements remain in Kyrgyzstan and 15 percent of Kyrgyzstan's population is ethnic Uzbek.
Speaking on condition of anonymity a Kyrgyz Border Service officer confirmed that the border was closed at
WHAT NEXT?
All the above-mentioned nations, while having significant interests in
Depending on the situation develops Kyrgyzstan’s neighbors could become involved, as Kyrgyzstan is a member of the post-Soviet Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) along with Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, a NATO counterpart in the former Soviet space. Should the situation in
A second regional mechanism for intervention could be the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) which includes
What is clear is that all the Eurasian powers are closely watching events in
As Michael Corleone observed, “It’s just business,” but the irony that Russia has been ahead of the U.S. in the international vanguard of dealing with the Kyrgyz provisional government established in the wake of a popular uprising that saw nearly 100 killed and over 1,000 wounded is not lost on the Kyrgyz, much less their compatriots in the surrounding “Stans.”
Part one can be found here: The Truth behind the Recent Unrest in Kyrgyzstan
by Dr. John CK Daly for Oilprice.com who offer detailed analysis on Crude oil, Geopolitics, Gold and most other Commodities. They also provide free political and economic intelligence to help <a href="http://www.oilprice.com/articles-finance.php" target="new">investors</a>. gain a greater understanding of world events and the impact they have on certain regions and sectors. Visit: http://www.oilprice.com