“After Bakiyev engaged in brinksmanship [with the Manas Air Base], to see who the highest bidder would be,” the U.S. or Russia, “the Americans decided to give him what he wanted” to keep access to the air base, the Eurasia Democracy Initiative’s Peter Zalmayev told POLITICO.
The opposition appears to have overthrown the Kyrgyzstan government and the president fled the capital, the New York Times’ Clifford Levy reports:
Large-scale protests appear to have overthrown the government of Kyrgyzstan, an important American ally in Central Asia, after violence between riot police officers and opposition demonstrators on Thursday killed at least 17 people.
The country’s president, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, fled the capital, Bishkek, in his plane, and the opposition declared that it was forming its own government.
Earlier in the day, the police used bullets, tear gas and stun grenades against a crowd of thousands massing in front of the presidential office in Bishkek, according to witness accounts. At least 17 people were killed and others were wounded, officials said.
Opposition leaders said the toll was as high as 100 people, but that figure could not be confirmed.
The upheaval raised questions about the future of an important American air base that operates in Kyrgyzstan in support of the NATO mission in nearby Afghanistan. American officials said that as of Wednesday evening the base was functioning normally.
The Obama administration has sought to cultivate ties with Mr. Bakiyev, angering the opposition, after Bakiyev vowed to close the American base on the outskirts of Bishkek last year. He reversed his decision after the American side agreed to concessions, including higher rent. …
Mr. Bakiyev first took office in 2005 after the Tulip Revolution, the third in what was seen at the time as a series of so-called color revolutions that offered hope of more democratic governments in former Soviet republics. But since then, he has consolidated power, cracking down on the opposition and independent news outlets. …
UPDATE: Bakiyev’s son Maxim and Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Sarbayev were en route to Washington for previously scheduled meetings when the news broke, according to State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley.
“After Bakiyev engaged in brinksmanship [with the Manas Air Base], to see who the highest bidder would be,” the U.S. or Russia, “the Americans decided to give him what he wanted” to keep access to the air base, the Eurasia Democracy Initiative’s Peter Zalmayev told POLITICO.
Bakiyev’s son Maxim, who has the concession that sells jet fuel to the Manas air base, “is the No. 1 businessman running Kyrgyzstan’s industries,” Zalmayev continued. Bakiyev basically did the same thing by way of corruption as his predecessor, Akayev, whom he succeeded after the 2005 Tulip Revolution, Zalmayev said.
The timing of the unrest seems mostly based on the recent quadrupling of the price of basic utilities in Kyrgyzstan. The resulting protests have seemed “less of an organized event than the Tulip Revolution,” and more of a spontaneous outpouring, Zalmayev said.
Origin – politico.com
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