Boring foreign news - Kyrgyzstan government ousted‎

mike65

article

Bishkek - Opponents of President Kurmanbek Bakiyev took control on Wednesday of Kyrgyzstan after a day of spectacular violence that ended with Bakiyev fleeing the capital of the strategic Central Asian state.

Opposition protesters seized the presidential administration on Wednesday night and announced on state radio that they had formed a provisional government with former foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva at its head.

A worker at Bishkek's international airport told AFP that the 60-year-old Bakiyev had fled the capital aboard a small plane as his opponents consolidated their grip on key national institutions.

Opposition leader Temir Sariyev said on Kyrgyz radio that Prime Minister Daniyar Usenov had signed a letter of resignation and Otunbayeva vowed that the new leadership in the country would move quickly to normalise the situation.

"Power is now in the hands of the people's government," Otunbayeva said in an address on state radio.

"Responsible people have been appointed and are already working to normalise the situation."

The fast-moving events in Kyrgyzstan capped a day of ferocious clashes in Bishkek and other cities that quickly turned into a nationwide revolt against Bakiyev that was believed to have left scores dead.

I have no idea if this is a good or a bad thing.

I have been PM-ed by a mod to have an opinion

So here goes - it might be a bad thing as any change in the status-quo might just prompt others to intervene at whatever level on a pretext.

Biggins

Does the state have any types of nuclear facilities?
Any unstableness in such a possible state is never a good thing. If so, I hope things settle down quick.

wes

I know very little about the country. So, I am unsure of the whether the developments there are good to bad. I think they may have been on the alternate supply route for Nato to Afghanistan, seeing as the Pakistan routes were dangerous for supplies.

I also remember that the previous government did engage in torture of oppenents:

Kyrgyzstan: Investigate Torture Allegations

Hopefully, the new guys will be better than the previous government, and allow free and open elections to take place asap.

Manic Moran

I think they may have been on the alternate supply route for Nato to Afghanistan, seeing as the Pakistan routes were dangerous for supplies.

Pakistan is still the route almost all equipment takes. We'll see if my gear makes it home, last unit had half their containers ransacked and the gear replaced with mortar mix (of all things).

Kyrgysztan is the primary route for all personnel, however. I spent a week in Manas (Bishkek Airport) last month as it happens. We'll see how the new government handles the transit centre. The previous government had demanded the facility be closed down under pressure from the Russians, but changed their minds when the US doubled the rent it was paying (And upgraded the airport a bit).

NTM

AlekSmart

The previous government had demanded the facility be closed down under pressure from the Russians, but changed their minds when the US doubled the rent it was paying (And upgraded the airport a bit).

Thats known in the trade as doing a Ryanair on them !!! (In Reverse) :P

Gekko

I liked the bit shown on BBC 10 o'clock news where they got the armoured personnel carrier type vehicle then drove it around and tipped over police vans and stuff.

The_Minister

My knowledge of this country's politics is zero.

I have no idea what the implications of this are.

It feels weird to know absolutely nothing about another country (that isn't in Africa).

Piste

^That's exactly my thoughts

Hadn't a group of six central asian countries(china, russia,(maybe) kazakstan or uzbekistan) stared having meetings about trade a year or so ago?..might be interesting to see if it was a pro western revolution..

Nodin

The_Minister wrote: »

My knowledge of this country's politics is zero.

I have no idea what the implications of this are.

It feels weird to know absolutely nothing about another country (that isn't in Africa).

In a surreal moment, I was there wondering if this was the place they boiled them ('dissidents') in barrels, but no, thats Uzbekistan......

Mahatma coat

The_Minister wrote: »

My knowledge of this country's politics is zero.

I have no idea what the implications of this are.

It feels weird to know absolutely nothing about another country (that isn't in Africa).

I think that would Qualify you for a green Card :D:D

ei.sdraob

Manic Moran wrote: »

The previous government had demanded the facility be closed down under pressure from the Russians, but changed their minds when the US doubled the rent it was paying (And upgraded the airport a bit)

Shannon airport ahem ahem

wes

So Time magazine has an article on what this may mean:

Kyrgyzstan: Did Moscow Subvert a U.S. Central Asian Ally?

Some back ground on the importance of the country to the US and Russia, and there tug of war over it.

bmaxi

I lost interest when I realised the pictures weren't coming from Merrion Square :

FlutterinBantam

wes wrote: »

So Time magazine has an article on what this may mean:

Kyrgyzstan: Did Moscow Subvert a U.S. Central Asian Ally?

Some back ground on the importance of the country to the US and Russia, and there tug of war over it.

I kinda guessed it wouldn't be too long before the US got the blame:cool:

anymore

If it is not Palestine, Iraq or Afghanistan, it is not news. :mad:

wes

FlutterinBantam wrote: »

I kinda guessed it wouldn't be too long before the US got the blame:cool:

The article is blaming Russia.... So how about addressing things that are actually being said, and not banging on about non-existent anti-Americanism.

Personally, I didn't blame either. I just taught the article presented some interesting back ground, and also some information on possible foreign interference from Russia.

wes

anymore wrote: »

If it is not Palestine, Iraq or Afghanistan, it is not news. :mad:

Um, What? This was the top news story on the BBC, Al Jazeera, Dawn news paper web site, and several other news sites that I frequent.

anymore

Exactly, it took a dramatic uprising to make the news, before that ?

wes

anymore wrote: »

Exactly, it took a dramatic uprising to make the news, before that ?

So? Same goes for the countries you mentioned. Sure, before 9/11 Afghanistan was hardly in the news, for at least a decade, and before that it was in the news due to the Russian invasion. When major events happen, they get covered. This is how the news works. I have no idea what it is you are suggesting, and to be honest, I don't see the relevance at all.

So how about actually discussing the topic at hand. If you want to talk about media bias, you can start a thread on it, and not derail this one.

mike65

I was half awake listening to RTE morning news between 8 and 9 and I don't recall it getting a mention.

anymore

wes wrote: »

So? Same goes for the countries you mentioned. Sure, before 9/11 Afghanistan was hardly in the news, for at least a decade, and before that it was in the news due to the Russian invasion. When major events happen, they get covered. This is how the news works. I have no idea what it is you are suggesting, and to be honest, I don't see the relevance at all.

So how about actually discussing the topic at hand. If you want to talk about media bias, you can start a thread on it, and not derail this one.

Wes mine was an off the cuff remark reflecting on how a small number of issues tend to dominate the news on an ongoing basis at the expense of the wider world. We dont need to engage in 'Ping Pong' posting on every thread we happen to contribute to. In the spirit of that comment, I will refrain from further posts on this thread.

BluePlanet

Somewhat interesting Wikipedia article about the place:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Kyrgyzstan

Lots of "changing the constitution" giving the Prez more power.
Plenty of opposition arrested, riots, charges and counter charges.

All the usual stuff in an unstable State.

Manic Moran

BBC are reporting a member of the opposition (The President is refusing to resign) as saying that Russia has had a hand in the uprising. The Russians have sent an additional company of paratroops to their base near Bishkek. The NATO facility nearby is still operating, albeit at a slightly more limited rate. I have a feeling the new government is going to push NATO out. That's going to rather put a crimp in the Afghan surge until another option is obtained.

NTM

northwest100

FlutterinBantam wrote:

I kinda guessed it wouldn't be too long before the US got the blame

funny you should say that

Zbigniew Brzezinski, (a trilateralist) was a National Security Advisor to the carter administration 1977-1981.

He personally met Osama Bin Laden and in the 70's told taliban fighters "your cause is right, God is on your side" when the USSR were trying to take control of Afghanistan.

He's responsible for a lot of mayhem in the world..but it's really up to you if you want to learn about these things.

Here are some really nice quotes from his book, "The Grand Chessboard" (American Primacy And Its Geostrategic Imperatives ) which I would recommend anyone who wants to understand the media obsession with Iraq,Venezuela,Iran, Afghanistan and other parts of Eurasia. (not to mention Eritrea and other african countries.)

[Referring to an area he calls the "Eurasian Balkans" and a 1997 map in which he has circled the exact location of the current conflict - describing it as the central region of pending conflict for world dominance] "Moreover, they [the Central Asian Republics] are of importance from the standpoint of security and historical ambitions to at least three of their most immediate and more powerful neighbors, namely Russia, Turkey and Iran, with China also signaling an increasing political interest in the region. But the Eurasian Balkans are infinitely more important as a potential economic prize: an enormous concentration of natural gas and oil reserves is located in the region, in addition to important minerals, including gold."

"The most immediate task is to make certain that no state or combination of states gains the capacity to expel the United States from Eurasia or even to diminish significantly its decisive arbitration role."

"The world's energy consumption is bound to vastly increase over the next two or three decades. Estimates by the U.S. Department of energy anticipate that world demand will rise by more than 50 percent between 1993 and 2015, with the most significant increase in consumption occurring in the Far East. The momentum of Asia's economic development is already generating massive pressures for the exploration and exploitation of new sources of energy and the Central Asian region and the Caspian Sea basin are known to contain reserves of natural gas and oil that dwarf those of Kuwait, the Gulf of Mexico, or the North Sea."

Nice, eh?

It could be argued that the Tulip Revolution and other similar so-called "color revolutions" in former USSR states like Georgia and Ukraine are attributed directly to Brzezinski and his associates who would much prefer a regime with pro-western policies.

We can see these attempted CIA coups in any country with large reserves of oil, gas and precious metals that elite foreigners want control over.

Kurmanbek Bakiyev was a puppet with pro-western policies and had been under pressure from Moscow to stop the US from using the Manas base which is critical to the "operation enduring freedom" :rolleyes:

Largely, this tug of war between SCO and US is about the energy reserves in the region more than anything else...

It has absolutely nothing to do with idealogy and everything to do with who controls that energy in the future.

Of course, we're constantly told it's a "war on terror" ..eventually everyone will realise this is just a smoke screen...well, for some there's no hope.

Manic Moran wrote:

BBC are reporting a member of the opposition (The President is refusing to resign) as saying that Russia has had a hand in the uprising.

Now we see the classic western propaganda at work...

Kurmanbek Bakiyev was responsible for the murder of prominent opposition leaders during his term.. widespread fraud was reported when he got elected.

He was a puppet and servant of the US and now he's gone, I say good riddance.

Manic Moran

Now we see the classic western propaganda at work...

Kurmanbek Bakiyev was responsible for the murder of prominent opposition leaders during his term.. widespread fraud was reported when he got elected.

He was a puppet and servant of the US and now he's gone, I say good riddance

The quote made by the opposition member is either accurate or not accurate, propoganda has little to do with it. I make no statement as to whether or not Bakiyev's removal was a good thing or not, since I honestly never looked into his history.

NTM

northwest100

I didn't accuse you personally.

It's funny for me to see right-wingers cry about about freedom of press and human rights violations in south american countries but then be completely silent when Obama or Bush shake hands and do business with a dictator like Islam Karimov who likes to boil alive his opponents.

he's a complete tyrant but has the full support of the west so i guess he's ok guy