USA, one of the largest working "democracies" of the world has several secret torture camps across the globe and also a few military bases in every region to control the resources and activities of the entire world. As a global terrorist organization, the USA has already invaded and annexed Afghanistan, Iraq is controlling Pakistan too.. USA kills Muslims in these countries on terrorism and WMD pretexts. Now the USA has run into problems with a Central Asian state, Kyrgyzstan, deciding to cancel permit for US to use its airfield for military purposes for attacks in Afghanistan.
The USA would have six months to close down operations after the measure was approved. It was not immediately clear why the vote was put on hold. Earlier, the Kyrgyz government had submitted a decree to parliament for the closure of the base. A government spokesman said the move was prompted by popular disapproval of the base. But USA suspects that Russia played a hand in influencing his decision after pledging $2bn (£1.4bn) in aid.
When the USSR collapsed, a major energy zone the Central Asia became free with independent states predominantly of Muslims. USA-led western powers forged economic and political ties with these nations. One of them Kyrgyzstan has military ties with USA having a military base, the Manas air base. Recently, The Kyrgyz government rapidly approved a bill ordering of a key US air base in Kyrgyzstan to be closed and submitted the text to parliament for a debate. The bill "is about the cancellation of the agreement with the USA on the presence in of the American air base. The move was prompted by popular disapproval of the base and the Kyrgyzstan's parliament has delayed a vote on whether to close a key US air base that supports US and NATO operations in Afghanistan.
The air base supports US and NATO operations in Afghanistan and is the only US base in Central Asia. Its closure would be a major blow for those operations. US officials say they have received no notification of the closure, and are talking to the Kyrgyz government. Kyrgyzstan's government on Feb 04 Wednesday approved the closure of a US airbase on its territory used as a vital supply route for Western military operations in Afghanistan. Parliament had been due to start debating the closure of the Manas base, but officials announced the vote would be put off until later in the month. Kyrgyzstan would push USA for concessions and more amount as field lease plus service changes.
The move follows a statement by Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev that the Manas air base would close. President Bakiyev made his announcement in Moscow, where he was promised more than $2bn (£1.4bn) in Russian aid. Bakiyev announced the closure a day earlier in Moscow, fuelling speculation the decision came under pressure from Russia, which has been irritated by the US presence in ex-Soviet territory.
Bakiyev has said the Manas base - set up in 2001 to assist the US military operation against al-Qaeda and the Taleban in Afghanistan - was only meant to be open for two years at the most. He has also made it clear the Americans had not been willing to pay what Bishkek regards as the right price to keep the base open.. The US base at Manas contributes about $50m (£28.7m) a year to the Kyrgyz economy - a considerable sum in a country where the average annual wage is just $330. President Bakiyev had said his decision came after failed attempts to secure further financial assistance from the Americans.
Washington says it needs the Kyrgyz base and is working to secure additional supply routes through ex-Soviet Central Asia to implement its plans, which include deployment of 30,000 more troops over the next 18 months, although President Obama ahs said he would go for troop reduction in Afghanistan. In the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, the US Embassy said it had not received any notice that Kyrgyzstan was ordering the closure of the base, located outside Bishkek at Manas and home to over 1,000 foreign troops, mostly American. US embassy officials were trying to hold talks with the Kyrgyz presidential administration but so far such requests were not being met. "Discussions will continue," the embassy said in a statement. "We have a broad range of programs and interests we will continue to pursue with the government and people of Kyrgyzstan." Meanwhile, Colonel Greg Julian, US spokesman in Afghanistan said that Bakiyev's statement was "political positioning". Last month, the top US military commander for the Middle East and Central Asia, Gen David Petraeus, held talks in Bishkek about the future of Manas.
Kyrgyzstan-US standoff
On 11 July 2006 the Kyrgyz authorities expelled two US diplomats for "inappropriate" contacts with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The local news agency 24.kg said "reliable sources" said two US citizens had been deported. It quoted one as saying that the expulsion was due to "gross interference in the internal affairs of the sovereign Kyrgyz Republic ". The apparent expulsions come on the eve of planned talks on the future of a US military air base, Manas.
USA and Kyrgyzstan have been locked in dispute over the base, after Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiev demanded a one-hundred-fold rise in the annual rent to $200m. President Bakiev came to power in 2005 after popular protests swept the former President, Askar Akayev, from power after 15 years in office. The country's many active civil rights groups were a driving force behind the protests. About 1,000 troops are stationed at Manas International Airport near the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. The US also makes use of the Karshi-Khanabad airbase in Uzbekistan. Flights into Karshi-Khanabad were reduced at the request of the Uzbek authorities, after the US criticized the government over its violent put-down of an uprising in Andijan in May. "Uzbekistan sees itself as a regional power and it feels that the US has let it down by criticizing it," US spokesperson Cornell said. "The Bush administration's emphasis on human rights and democratization has given Russia and China the chance to increase the gap between the Central Asian states and the West. They can say, 'We don't ask you tough questions, we will help you be safe and it's no problem if you don't have elections'.."
The US is interested in Central Asia because it is a significant land mass plus energy resources in the region, but it says the region could become a haven for "terrorists".. After the fall of USSR, USA began inffluencing the Central Asian states. This is one of the reasons why the regional polliticians are so corrupt. USA has no troops based in Tajikistan or Kazakhstan, but it has an arrangement to refuel aircraft in Tajik airfields and to fly over Tajik territory. With the nearest bases as far away as Turkey and South Korea, the Central Asian bases play an essential role in supporting military operations in Afghanistan.. The lack of a base in the region before 2001 delayed the start of US operations in Afghanistan and possibly played a part in allowing Osama Bin Laden to evade capture. But as well as the clear military advantage, the bases also allow the US to monitor developments in the region.
USA says that objections to the US presence have been fuelled by Russia and China, which view Central Asia as their sphere of influence. "This is old-fashioned power politics," Cornell says. "They believe that a US presence decreases their influence."The more conservative elements in those countries would say that they feel that the US is trying to encircle them to prevent them having their rightful role in the region."
While not setting a date for withdrawal, Kyrgyzstan's defence minister had last year said after meeting Rumsfeld that US forces would have no reason to stay on once the situation in Afghanistan stabilized. But the USA has no plans to surrender sovereignty to Afghans.
Russia Factor
Manas is the only US base in Central Asia and is a vital transit point for NATO and US operations in Afghanistan. The move to shut the base comes at a critical moment, just as the new administration of US President Barack Obama plans a sharp increase in the number of American troops in Afghanistan. For Russia, on the other hand, its closure would be a significant diplomatic victory as it seeks to reassert its influence in all former Soviet republics and beyond, correspondents say. Moscow has given its support for NATO re-supplying its forces in Afghanistan, but has stopped short of agreeing to share a military presence in the former Soviet Union with the USA.
America is accusing Russia of meddling with internal affairs of Kyrgyzstan- a usual tactics to bully its adversaries when its hidden agenda is met with opposition. USA is ruining both Iraq ad Afghanistan plus Pakistan, while Israel doe sit in Palestine. In Moscow a top Russian government official denied Moscow had played a role in Bishkek's decision. A number of financial deals which were secured by the Kyrgyz president on his visit to Russia had also been expected to be discussed on Thursday at the parliament. The Russian government promised huge financial package for Kyrgyzstan - $2bn in loans and another $150m in aid. The majority of the $2bn is to be invested in the country's troubled energy sector. US officials said earlier they had received no notification of the closure, and were continuing discussions with the Kyrgyz government over the lease of the base. The Russian government has stepped in with a composite assurance of economic and security benefits too.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia would provide "full-fledged, comprehensive co-operation with the United States and other coalition members in fighting terrorism in the region". But he also appeared to criticize US policy, saying the fight against terrorism must include political as well as military components. "It would be good if that would help reduce the number of terrorists, but the fight against terrorism is not limited to building up military forces," he said. Russia considers the move a diplomatic victory for the Kremlin against USA.
Kyrgyz Republic
Officially the Kyrgyz Republic is a country in Central Asia. Landlocked and mountainous, it is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east. The name Kyrgyz, both for the country and the people, means "forty girls" or "forty tribes", a reference to the epic hero Manas who unified forty tribes against the Mongols, as symbolized by the 40-ray sun on the flag of Kyrgyzstan. The mountainous region of the Tian Shan covers over 80% of the country ( Kyrgyzstan is occasionally referred to as "the Switzerland of Central Asia ", as a result),] with the remainder made up of valleys and basins. Lake Issyk-Kul in the north-western Tian Shan is the largest lake in Kyrgyzstan and the second largest mountain lake in the world after Titicaca. Kyrgyzstan has significant deposits of metals including gold and rare earth metals. Bishkek in the north is the capital and largest city
The territory, then known in Russian as " Kirgizia ", was formally incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1876. The Russian takeover was met with numerous revolts against tsarist authority, and many of the Kyrgyz opted to move to the Pamirs and Afghanistan. In addition, the suppression of the 1916 rebellion in Central Asia caused many Kyrgyz to migrate to China. Since many ethnic groups in the region were (and still are) split between neighboring states at a time when borders were more porous and less regulated, it was common to move back and forth over the mountains, depending on where life was perceived as better; this might mean better rains for pasture or better government after oppression.
Soviet power was initially established in the region in 1919, and the Kara-Kyrgyz Autonomous Oblast was created within the Russian SFSR (the term Kara-Kirghiz was used until the mid-1920s by the Russians to distinguish them from the Kazakhs, who were also referred to as Kirghiz ). On December 5, 1936, the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic was established as a full republic of the Soviet Union.
During the 1920s, Kyrgyzstan developed considerably in cultural, educational and social life. Literacy was greatly improved, and a standard literary language was introduced by imposing Russian on the populace. Economic and social development also was notable. Many aspects of the Kyrgyz national culture were retained despite the suppression of nationalist activity under Stalin, and, therefore, tensions with the all-Union authorities were constant. In December 1990, the Supreme Soviet voted to change the republic's name to the Republic of Kyrgyzstan . (In 1993, it became the Kyrgyz Republic) In February 1991, the name of the capital, Frunze , was changed back to its pre-Revolutionary name of Bishkek.
Despite these aesthetic moves toward independence, economic realities seemed to work against secession from the Soviet Union . In a referendum on the preservation of the Soviet Union in March 1991, 88.7% of the voters approved the proposal to retain the Soviet Union as a "renewed federation." on December 21, 1991, Kyrgyzstan joined with the other four Central Asian Republics to formally enter the new Commonwealth of Independent States. In 1992, Kyrgyzstan joined the UN and the OSCE. Political stability appears to be elusive, however, as various groups and factions allegedly linked to organized crime are jockeying for power. Three of the 75 members of Parliament elected in March 2005 were assassinated, and another member was assassinated on 10 May 2006 shortly after winning his murdered brother's seat in a by-election. All four are reputed to have been directly involved in major illegal business ventures.
Despite the backing of major Western lenders, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, Kyrgyzstan has had economic difficulties following independence. Initially, these were a result of the breakup of the Soviet trading bloc and resulting loss of markets, which impeded the republic's transition to a free market economy. The government has reduced expenditures, ended most price subsidies and introduced a value-added tax. Overall, the government appears committed to the transition to a market economy. Through economic stabilization and reform, the government seeks to establish a pattern of long-term consistent growth. Reforms led to Kyrgyzstan 's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) on December 20, 1998.
Kyrgyzstan's population is estimated at 5.2 million in 2007. During Soviet times, state atheism was encouraged. Today, however, Kyrgyzstan is a secular state, although Islam has exerted a growing influence in politics. For instance, there have been various attempts to decriminalize polygamy, and to arrange for officials to travel on hajj (the pilgrimage to Mecca) under a tax-free arrangement. Kyrgyzstan is an overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim nation and adheres to the Hanafi school of thought.
While Islam in Kyrgyzstan is more of a cultural background than a devout daily practice for many, public figures have expressed support for restoring religious values. The nation's largest ethnic group is the Kyrgyz, a Turkic people, who comprise 69% of the population (2007 estimate). Other ethnic groups include Russians (9.0%) concentrated in the north and Uzbeks (14.5%) living in the south. Small but noticeable minorities include Tatars (1.9%), Uyghurs (1.1%), Tajiks (1.1%), Kazakhs (0.7%) and Ukrainians (0.5%) and other smaller ethnic minorities (1.7%).
Post-script
The western critics say that the decision by the Central Asian state came as a snub to the administration of US President Barack Obama, which has singled out Afghanistan as the main front in US military operations overseas. The announcement comes at a critical moment, just as the new administration of US President Barack Obama plans a sharp increase in the number of American troops in Afghanistan. But perhaps more importantly, he made it clear the Americans had not been willing to pay what Bishkek regards as the right price to keep the base open. Further, Kyrgyzstan suspects USA of having some hidden agenda for the region and subversive poliitcs to outsmart Russia by overstreching the contract and overstaying in the coutnry while also prolonging the terror war in Afghanistan.
Current concerns in Kyrgyzstan include privatization of state-owned enterprises, expansion of Western influence, inter-ethnic relations and terrorism. The future of the US base in Uzbekistan is less secure. However, western analysts believe the bases could remain longer, if USA and Russia come to some sort of "adjustments". .
Russia and China will continue to exert pressure on Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, but with limited success for the time being. They are always trying to get the US out but for the moment the four Central Asian states want everyone involved. For Russia, on the other hand, it is a significant diplomatic victory as it seeks to reassert its influence in all former Soviet republics and beyond. Kyrgyzstan, a pro-Kremlin nation would prefer to make Moscow leaders happy by its actions in the country, rather than the USA which employs the terrorism ploys to expand its military bases around the world.
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