Kyrgyzstan update

This is a must-read article for anybody who's ever been to or knows someone stationed at Manas Air Base.
Troops focus on Afghanistan.

It's worth noting that today in my mailbox I received articles claiming that Askar Akayev had denied any intention of resigning, had made conditional offers of resignation, and had in fact already resigned. The main difference being the countryies from which these news articles came.

The Turkish news has an article speculating that new elections are likely to be held "soon," whatever that means. Given the frequency of elections in central Asia in the last two millenia, soon might mean sometime this century.

The Chinese, meanwhile, have an article discussing the Turkish policy on Kyrgyz elections, namely that they will be held "soon." The Chinese article does not, however, bother to mention that Kyrgyzstan has recently undergone a revolution and thrown out the sitting government. Ah, those crazy Chinese.

The French have an article that says the Kyrgyz revolution owes something to Western influence; Reuters, however, argues that the revolution took both the West and Russia by surprise, and that the rivalry for dominance in Kyrgyzstan and central Asia is on hold while the great powers sort out what to do.

The Pakistani news agency focuses on the down and dirty political maneuvering going on in the duelling Kyrgyz parliaments (the reforms won). It also notes in detail the Chinese official response to all these events, which includes the statement, "'We hope relevant anti-terrorism cooperation can continue to be carried out smoothly.'" Pakistan news goes on to say that China uses the word terrorism to define "Muslim separatist activities in its region bordering Central Asia." This would be the predominantly Uighur and Muslim region of Xinjiang, which which predominantly Muslim and minority Uighur Kyrgyzstan shares a long border.

British news is praising the Kyrgyz revolution, saying that the country has led the way for the other central Asian states to move toward democracy. One would assume the Brits weren't encouraging looting and violence, but given the long history of British diplomatic and military failures in central Asia they can probably be forgiven for not getting in a snit over a little violence and destruction. They'd probably like to join in, actually.

And the ever hopeful Aussies have an article noting that while activities of some Australian mining firms in Kyrgyzstan have been suspended, all the assets are safe and business should resume shortly.