Global General

Kyrgyzstan's unrest exposes heavy political jockeying

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-06-15 14:27

Stability Efforts

Following the latest surge of violence, the interim Kyrgyz government made a series of moves to restore peace and stability to the southern area and change the impression among the public of incompetence in maintaining social order.

On the security front, the government has dispatched police and military forces, including special forces and armored units, from across the country to the south, and recruited large numbers of new soldiers.

The security forces have set up posts in Osh and Jalalabad, to check vehicles, and they also search for weapons and detain members of the armed groups.

The government has also authorized law enforcement officers to use lethal weapons against mobs who burn civilian houses, attack government buildings and commit ethnic killings.

Economically, the government has collected relief materials from all over the country for the restive region. Local authorities in Osh have warned that local residents would starve if no significant relief came in 10 days.

Besides, police have evacuated women, children and the elderly living in ethnically mixed neighborhood. Meanwhile, the government on Monday began sending cellphone texting messages to help evacuate the needy and calm the public following the collapse of Internet, TV broadcast and newspaper delivery services.

Russia's Role

The interim government leader Otunbayeva on Saturday requested Kremlin to consider sending "third-party troops" to southern Kyrgyzstan, but the Russian government declined the request, saying the Osh unrest is Kyrgyzstan's internal conflict, which does not necessitate the intervention of Russian troops.

Local analysts noted that Russia has never sent troops to intervene in the internal clashes of Central Asian nations since the disintegration of the Soviet Union. They said Kremlin's restraint to send troops is a wise decision, which helped avert possible worsening of the situation.

They cautioned that should Russian troops become involved in the Kyrgyz conflict, Russia would face grave international pressure. Some Western countries would have yet another chance to stir up the alleged threat of Russia's "imperialist ambitions," and CIS members might also be concerned with such a precedent.

However, they believed the close ties between and extensive common interest shared by Russia and Kyrgyzstan made it impossible for Russia to stand by when Kyrgyzstan is plagued by widespread unrest.

They think Russia would very likely play its role via the mechanism of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Collective Security Treaty Organization rather than direct military intervention.

As the situation in Kyrgyzstan involves many uncertainties, it remains to be seen what changes would take place in the country's political and economic landscape, they said.