Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Los Angeles Times
December 8, 2006
He calls for immunity to end for U.S. military personnel in the nation.
By Associated Press
BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN — President Kurmanbek Bakiyev called Thursday for U.S. troops deployed in this former Soviet republic to be stripped of diplomatic immunity after a U.S. service member shot and killed a Kyrgyz civilian.
Alexander Ivanov, a 42-year-old fuel truck driver, was shot by a member of the Air Force security detail Wednesday during a security check at the entrance to the Manas air base near Bishkek, the capital, the Interior Ministry said.
The U.S. military said an Air Force security officer "used deadly force in response to a threat." A senior military official in Washington said the truck driver reportedly brandished a knife during a routine vehicle inspection.
"It would be reasonable if U.S. military based in Kyrgyzstan were brought to account for their illegal actions in accordance with national law," Bakiyev told U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch, according to the president's press office.
Under an agreement between the U.S. and Kyrgyz governments, U.S. personnel deployed in Kyrgyzstan have immunity from prosecution under Kyrgyz law.
The Foreign Ministry sent an official note to the U.S. Embassy demanding that the immunity of the serviceman, whom it identified as Zachary Hatfield, be waived.
Embassy representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Ivanov was shot twice in the chest and died in the emergency room at the U.S. base, located at Kyrgyzstan's main civilian airport, the Interior Ministry said.
The incident came several months after the mysterious disappearance of a U.S. servicewoman.
Air Force Maj. Jill Metzger vanished Sept. 5 while on a shopping excursion in the city and reappeared several days later, saying she had been kidnapped.
She was flown out of the country hours after reappearing, and Kyrgyz investigators complained they could not properly complete their inquiry.
About 1,000 troops are stationed at the base in the Central Asian nation, which the U.S. began using after the Sept. 11 attacks, primarily in support of military operations in nearby Afghanistan.
December 8, 2006
He calls for immunity to end for U.S. military personnel in the nation.
By Associated Press
BISHKEK, KYRGYZSTAN — President Kurmanbek Bakiyev called Thursday for U.S. troops deployed in this former Soviet republic to be stripped of diplomatic immunity after a U.S. service member shot and killed a Kyrgyz civilian.
Alexander Ivanov, a 42-year-old fuel truck driver, was shot by a member of the Air Force security detail Wednesday during a security check at the entrance to the Manas air base near Bishkek, the capital, the Interior Ministry said.
The U.S. military said an Air Force security officer "used deadly force in response to a threat." A senior military official in Washington said the truck driver reportedly brandished a knife during a routine vehicle inspection.
"It would be reasonable if U.S. military based in Kyrgyzstan were brought to account for their illegal actions in accordance with national law," Bakiyev told U.S. Ambassador Marie L. Yovanovitch, according to the president's press office.
Under an agreement between the U.S. and Kyrgyz governments, U.S. personnel deployed in Kyrgyzstan have immunity from prosecution under Kyrgyz law.
The Foreign Ministry sent an official note to the U.S. Embassy demanding that the immunity of the serviceman, whom it identified as Zachary Hatfield, be waived.
Embassy representatives were not immediately available for comment.
Ivanov was shot twice in the chest and died in the emergency room at the U.S. base, located at Kyrgyzstan's main civilian airport, the Interior Ministry said.
The incident came several months after the mysterious disappearance of a U.S. servicewoman.
Air Force Maj. Jill Metzger vanished Sept. 5 while on a shopping excursion in the city and reappeared several days later, saying she had been kidnapped.
She was flown out of the country hours after reappearing, and Kyrgyz investigators complained they could not properly complete their inquiry.
About 1,000 troops are stationed at the base in the Central Asian nation, which the U.S. began using after the Sept. 11 attacks, primarily in support of military operations in nearby Afghanistan.