Kyrgyzstan asks for Russian military forces, as Uzbeks and Kyrgyzs battle in the Sout

[Prapor]

MOSCOW: Kyrgyzstan's interim government has appealed to Russia to send troops to quell growing ethnic violence in the southern city of Osh.

“The situation is spinning out of control. We need foreign military help to curb violence. I have asked Russia to send in troops,” Interim President Roza Otunbayeva told reporters in the capital Bishkek. The Kremlin confirmed that Ms. Otunbayeva spoke to Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin late on Friday, but there has been no official reaction yet from Moscow. Russia and the United States both have military bases in the north of Kyrgyzstan. However, a senior Russian military source was quoted as saying the Russian troops deployed at the Kant base — about 500 men, mostly air force personnel — would not intervene as their mission was different.

The Kyrgyz Health Ministry said 63 people had been killed and about 1,000 wounded in Osh since Thursday, when clashes broke out in the second largest city lying 600 km south of the capital. Reports said the death toll could be much higher. The government imposed curfew and moved troops into the city but has so far failed to restore order. Artillery and heavy machinegun fire was heard in the city on Saturday.

Ethnic Uzbek account for half of the 250,000-strong population in Osh and are generally better off than Kyrgyz residents. Eyewitnesses said gangs of ethnic Kyrgyz were rampaging Uzbek-populated parts of Osh, indiscriminately killing, looting and setting houses on fire.

“The sky is grey with smoke, houses are burning, we are scared to death,” said Tatyana Shapovalova, an ethnic Russian mother of four, by telephone from Osh. “We beg for someone to get us out of here.”

The government on Saturday declared emergency in the city of Jalal-Abad as unrest spread to the city 60 km away from Osh. Mr. Otunbayeva blamed ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev's family for instigating riots in their stronghold in Osh in an attempt to disrupt a constitutional referendum scheduled for late June. Mr. Bakiyev fled Kyrgyzstan after being toppled in a bloody coup in early April.

Refugees who fled to neighbouring Uzbekistan said Kyrgyz rioters were burning down Uzbek neighbourhoods in Osh one after another.

“There are no Uzbek residents left in Osh,” a middle-aged man told reporters on the Uzbek side of the border with Kyrgyzstan. “There is no one to help us, they are shooting us from tanks and armoured personnel carriers.”

An officer was killed in a Kyrgyz border guard station in Osh as armed gangs tried to capture more weapons and ammunition. Ms. Otunbayeva admitted that rioters had seized “armaments and weapons”.

The violence is the worst since 1990 when hundreds of people, mostly Uzbek, were killed in Osh. At that time Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union, and Moscow sent troops to stop the violence. Experts said for Russia to help today it must get a peace-keeping mandate either from the Commonwealth of Independent States, a loose alliance of post-Soviet states, or the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, the Russia-led defence bloc of seven ex-Soviet states.

http://www.thehindu.com/2010/06/13/stories/2010061356491600.htm





Ok, first, Russia does have 20,000 troops in nearby Tajikistan, and some more forces in Uzbekistan, I believe, and it would take them maybe a couple hours, by planes, to get to Bishkek, Osh, and Jalalabad.

But, I am against this, here is why. The military should never play riot police. It always ends up more brutal than was intended, even if it was not supposed to be. You'd get Russian 18 year old boys with AKs up against Uzbek 18 year old boys with sticks and stones (well, mostly). What do you think will happen then? And, btw, that will be the arrangement. Russians going to Kyrgyzstan will not go to make peace, they will go to help Kyrgyz, who are pro Russian, who have Russian as second official language and treat Slavic people better than any of the others in the region; and to kill Uzbeks, against whom there is widespread racism and plenty of assaults and even murders of their migrant workers and illegal immigrants in Russia itself, and, of course, similar attitudes in the army, which reflects the general soviety; not entirely without reason: in early 90s Slavic people were massacred in the streets of Uzbek cities; teenage girls were gang-raped; they did terrible things to our people. If Russian military goes to Osh, there will be much more blood and loss of life there. They want to hurt and kill Uzbeks.

And, for Russia, I do not know how international public opinion would react to this. They can't wait to jump on us, remember Georgia?

 

[Shmack]

Russia should ignore that mess. There's absolutely no reason for Russia to meddle in this ****: it's not religious fundamentalism, it's not terrorists, it's not internatinal criminal network. This is not a war. It's just stupid interethnic clashings which have nothing to do with Russia and the Russians. If those people want to kill each other (they do, they do it regularly, they can't talk, negotiate, compromise - just kill), let them do it by their own efforts.

And it's not about what the world shall think about Russia. Russia is one of those few countries which can do whatever they want without looking back at what others say. That's not because Russia is so kewl and awesome, but because those who accuse Russia of smth do it anyway, no matter if Russia did smth bad or not.

 

[Prapor]

Russia should ignore that mess. There's absolutely no reason for Russia to meddle in this ****: it's not religious fundamentalism, it's not terrorists, it's not internatinal criminal network. This is not a war. It's just stupid interethnic clashings which have nothing to do with Russia and the Russians. If those people want to kill each other (they do, they do it regularly, they can't talk, negotiate, compromise - just kill), let them do it by their own efforts.

And it's not about what the world shall think about Russia. Russia is one of those few countries which can do whatever they want without looking back at what others say. That's not because Russia is so kewl and awesome, but because those who accuse Russia of smth do it anyway, no matter if Russia did smth bad or not.

It has already started, my friend:

Russia sent at least 150 paratroopers to Kyrgyzstan on Sunday

http://article.wn.com/view/2010/06/14/Kyrgyz_ethnic_clashes_spread_Russia_sends_troops/

Also:

Kyrgyzstan’s interim leader said on Saturday that the Central Asian state wanted Russian peacekeepers to help stop ongoing ethnic violence in the south of the country. Roza Otunbayeva’s comments came after she had spoken by phone to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin late on Friday.

http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=19702


Do not forget, there are still maybe hundreds of thousands of Russian families there. Those need to be either evacuated or protected.

Russian immigration officers working in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek confirm that more people are applying for residence rights and passports, and they are running a publicity campaign to inform people of citizenship procedures.

“More than 200, nearer to 300 people are coming to us every day,” said immigration official Vladimir Filippov. “There were fewer visitors in March. The number has increased by 150 or 200 per cent. It’s the unstable situation, the desire to return to one’s historical homeland, reuniting with one’s family, and so on.”

many of the would-be emigrants are Russians born and bred in Kyrgyzstan.

http://www.iwpr.net/report-news/russian-emigration-april-unrest