Latest Articles about Central Asia
RUMSFELD VISIT FIRMS UP KYRGYZ, TAJIK COMMITMENTS TO U.S.-LED COALITION
On July 25-27, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld visited Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to shore up those countries' commitments to support the American-led coalition. Both countries were wavering. Earlier this month, Moscow and Beijing had orchestrated demands in the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization... MORE
BISHKEK RESISTING TASHKENT’S PRESSURE TO RETURN ANDIJAN REFUGEES
On July 27 more than 300 refugees from the May riots in Andijan, Uzbekistan, were transported from Jalalabad oblast to Bishkek Manas International Airport en route to a third country. The head of the Kyrgyzstan mission of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Carlos Zaccagnini,... MORE
MILITANTS IN NORTHERN PAKISTAN ALLEGEDLY INCLUDE KAZAKH NATIONALS
Kazakhstan's security services have repeatedly resorted to the tactic of denying offhand any possible connections between Kazakh nationals and international extremist organizations. This tested rule of the game worked well after terrorists seized a school in Beslan, North Ossetia, last September and after the terrorist... MORE
TASHKENT INSISTS ANDIJAN HAD KYRGYZ LINK
Law-enforcement agencies from Osh district in southern Kyrgyzstan are continuing to investigate the possible involvement of Kyrgyz citizens in the May 10 armed uprising in Andijan, an Uzbek city near the border with Kyrgyzstan. Uzbek authorities have given a list of names of the 33... MORE
UZBEKISTAN’S RELATIONS WITH CHINA WARMING
Uzbekistan's relations with China have been developing at a much more rapid pace since its internal crisis in Andijan in May 2005. That renewed impetus towards building closer ties has been underscored by Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Wu Yi, who visited Uzbekistan for high-level talks... MORE
RUMSFELD EXPECTED IN KYRGYZSTAN TO SETTLE BASE ISSUE
On July 20, Kyrgyzstan's Ministry of Defense announced that U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is expected to arrive on July 25. Rumsfeld will discuss the future of the U.S.-led air base Manas with the new Kyrgyz leadership, in the wake of Moscow- and Beijing-inspired demands... MORE
ASTANA YIELDS TO WESTERN PRESSURE OVER UZBEK DISSIDENT
In a seemingly democratic gesture, Kazakh authorities handed over prominent Uzbek human rights activist Lutfulla Shamsuddinov to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on July 1. With this move the government resolved a difficult dilemma that had brought a flood of criticism from... MORE
KYRGYZ EXPERTS OPPOSE BISHKEK’S DECISION TO LIMIT U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE
At the July 5 Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana member states agreed to request a deadline for ending the U.S. military presence in Central Asia, now that the situation in neighboring Afghanistan has stabilized (see EDM, July 6). This request inevitably concerns Kyrgyzstan not... MORE
OPPOSITION TRIAL BEGINS IN TAJIKISTAN
On July 7 Eribek Ibraghimov, a former Tajik opposition field commander, went on trial before Tajikistan's Supreme Court. Better known by his nickname "Sheikh," Ibraghimov stands trial with four other former militants of the United Tajik Opposition: Davlat Sahovarov, Umar Shomahmadov, Hudoer Saidov, and Ahkomiddin... MORE
U.S. MILITARY PRESENCE IN CENTRAL ASIA IN DOUBT
The future of the U.S. military deployment in Central Asia has been thrown into doubt by Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Both local politics and the geopolitical dynamics have changed since the Andijan crisis in May and the July 10 Kyrgyz presidential election. As the Shanghai Cooperation... MORE