It’s hard to call this stuff news. When I share the news, I like to think it’s surprising or somewhat unprecedented, or at the very least, not completely predictable. But, well… here it is.
Item: Military Spending
The US continues to fund development in Kyrgyzstan. It’s nice to have a record of this stuff, so that the next time Kyrgyzstan threatens to kick us out, we can point back and say, “We’ll leave, but we’re taking our quadrunners and ambulances with us!” Interestingly enough, Spain and France seem to have been kicked off the Manas Base. Perhaps this is a not-so-shrewd attempt to play the same game already won against the US war-budgeteers.
Item: A River ran through It
Another day, another dam. Kyrgyzstan is going ahead with the construction of Kambarata-2 on the Naryn River. Something has been in the works for about 3o years, but with a new Russian loan, progress seems more certain. What this will mean for the power situation in Kyrgyzstan is anyone’s guess. The only sure loser will be the Syr Darya and the North Aral, though it’s impossible to predict the exact impact the dam will have. Russia is generously allowing repayment to stretch on until 2050. Is it wrong that I sometimes wonder how many Central Asian states will remain in their present form at that distant date?
Item: Power Overwhelming
[insert bad StarCraft joke here]
Two news reports, one story, two slants. China’s Xinhua is focusing on the new cabinet in Kyrgyzstan, whereas the Associated Press points out the new streamlining that came into being with the cabinet increases and consolidates the President’s powers even more. Bakiev’s republic may be weak compared to Kazakhstan, but his power over the country may be comparable.
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