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NEWS & LETTERS, July-August 2010
World in View
Kyrgyzstan in crisis
by Gerry Emmett
Tens of thousands of Uzbek refugees, threatened with loss of citizenship if they didn't participate in a constitutional referendum, were forced to rush back to Kyrgyzstan in mid-June. This left tens of thousands once again without food or shelter. The UN followed behind them with tent shelters and food aid in a surreal chase across borders.
The new Constitution which establishes a parliamentary democracy was passed, but now will function against a background of deep divisions.
The refugee crisis began when ethnic violence that broke out in Kyrgyzstan's second city of Osh on June 11 quickly spread and resulted in the internal displacement of up to 300,000 Uzbeks, with 100,000 more crossing the border into neighboring Uzbekistan as refugees. Thousands, mainly Uzbeks, were killed in pogroms that saw entire neighborhoods burned to the ground and looted of anything which might have been left. Besides ethnic Kyrgyz gangs there were also reports of Kyrgyz military forces joining in the assault.
The Kyrgyzstan government, which came to power only months ago, blamed the violence on supporters of the former government of ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev. The attacks have driven a deep wedge of anger and suspicion between majority Kyrgyz and minority Uzbek communities. As elsewhere, this kind of "ethnic cleansing" is aimed to destroy whatever potential for social progress exists in the wake of mass movements—in this case, a movement against utility price increases imposed under Bakiyev, who had himself been brought to power as a result of the 2005 "Tulip Revolution."
Interim head of government Roza Otunbayeva asked Russian President Medvedev to send peacekeeping troops. This was refused, although Russia did send a battalion of troops to defend its military base in the country. Both Russia and the U.S. have air bases, with the U.S. base considered vital to the war in Afghanistan. The Russians consider Kyrgyzstan as a part of their own sphere of influence. Neither will put the interests of the people of Kyrgyzstan ahead of their own military desires. Otunbayeva's call for European troops has also gone unheeded.
Unfortunately, the current government has only succeeded in militarizing Kyrgyz society itself, along the most reactionary lines that can be imagined. This doesn't bode well for the future.
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