The US military, recently booted from Uzbekistan, has been granted long-term access to Kyrgyzstan, BBC reported Oct. 11. The deal followed talks between US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and President Kurmanbek Bakiev in Bishkek. Kyrgyzstan had earlier urged the… Read moreRice wins deal on Kygyzstan air base
A defendant in the ongoing trial of the alleged organizers of the May violence in Andijon, Uzbekistan, testified Sept. 26 that the US Embassy in Tashkent might have financed it, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Uzbek Service reported. Tavakkal Hojiev told… Read moreUzbek terror defendant: US behind unrest
From the UK Guardian, Sept. 21: Western aid groups and journalists, including the BBC, helped Islamists in a bid to overthrow the Uzbek government, prosecutors claimed yesterday at the start of a trial of 15 men accused of organising May’s… Read moreUzbek prosecutors: BBC-jihad conspiracy
China’s bid to purchase the US oil major Unocal foiled by Chevron, which beat the Chinese firm CNOOC to the punch, it is now seeking a stake in the Caspian Basin oilfields of Kazakhstan–where Chevron is a major investor. The… Read moreChina seeks claim in Kazakh oil fields
From the Aug. 1 AP. Rights groups are protesting that 15 Uzbek refugees are to be forcibly repatriated from Kyrgyzstan. But this is after 440 were flown to Romania to seek asylum in Europe last week over the objections of… Read moreUzbek refugees: political pawns
The regime of Islam Karimov in Uzbekistan, heretofore attempting to play both sides in the Great Game between Moscow and Washington, appears to have finally and decisively thrown in its lot with the former. From Pakistan’s Daily Times, via AFP… Read moreUzbekistan boots US military
The Great Game for control of Central Asia goes on. A few weeks ago, Russia and China, via the regional Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), led a call for the US to set a deadline for its withdrawal from Uzbekistan and… Read moreRummy does Kyrgyzstan
Meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, July 5, the regional grouping known as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) issued a statement that called on the US to establish a timetable for withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan and elsewhere in Central Asia…. Read moreCentral Asia alliance demands timetable for US withdrawal
RFE/RL Newsline reports July 1 that a leading Uzbek opposition figure, Muhammad Solih, is seeking to use a visit to Washington to urge the US and European Union to expand their support for “democracy activists” in Uzbekistan. “We do not… Read moreUzbekistan opposition leader does DC
Russia has increased its support for the embattled government of Uzbekistan, announcing that it will soon conduct joint military exercises with the regime of President Islam Karimov. The announcement by Sergei Ivanov, Russia’s defense minister, was broadcast in Moscow after… Read moreUzbekistan tilts to Moscow
If the Iraq war is not about oil, somebody forgot to tell the editors of the New York Times and, it seems, the leadership of the People’s Republic of China. On June 27, the Times runs a front-page story on… Read moreUS oil dominance fuels China’s Unocal bid
More than 1,000 Kyrgyz troops fired tear gas June 17 to drive protesters from a key state building, foiling what the government said was an attempt by supporters of the ousted president to regain power. Acting President Kurmanbek Bakiyev blamed… Read moreMore unrest in Kyrgyzstan
