Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek Plans No Immediate Changes in Strategic Cooperation with US, Russia

There will be no changes to security arrangements that Kyrgyzstan has with both the United States and Russia until a duly elected government has a chance to review them, a top official in the Central Asian nation tells EurasiaNet.org.

In an interview with EurasiaNet.org, Edil Baisalov, the chief of staff to provisional leader Roza Otunbayeva, described US-Kyrgyz military cooperation as a "cornerstone" of bilateral relations.

Since upheaval April 6-7 in Bishkek caused the collapse of Kurmanbek Bakiyev's administration, speculation has risen about the future of the American transit center at Manas Airport, a key logistics hub supporting the US and NATO war effort in Afghanistan. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Beyond Manas, however, US-Kyrgyz strategic cooperation encompasses a full range of military and technical exchanges. Kyrgyz provisional government representatives have assured Defense Department officials that no immediate alterations to ongoing programs will occur. Cooperation is likely to continue to include to training and equipping of Kyrgyz military-security units.

"In those areas where there has been cooperation we don't anticipate any changes," Maj. Shawn Turner, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense, said on April 9.

Baisalov indicated that provisional leaders have offered similar assurances to the Kremlin. Russia is the leader of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), of which Kyrgyzstan is also a member. A major question now hovering over Russian-Kyrgyz strategic ties concerns the planned construction of a CSTO base in southern Kyrgyzstan's Batken region. Prior to Bakiyev's departure from Bishkek, the Batken base plan had stalled.

Provisional government leaders have stated that elections will take place in six months. Baisalov said that that once a new government is in place, a full review of Kyrgyzstan's security cooperation would occur, and, based on information that comes to light during the review process, policy alterations may be implemented.

The new leadership in Bishkek has already expressed an intention to scrutinize Pentagon contracting practices concerning the Manas transit center, in particular fuel contracts.

In addition, the provisional government has begun a probe into the actions of Kyrgyz security forces during the April 6-7 unrest, Baisalov said. At least 81 people died in the political violence.

Some experts believe that investigation's findings could prove embarrassing for the United States. American advisers are known to have provided training and equipment to Kyrgyzstan's National Guard. In November of last year, Bakiyev transferred the National Guard's responsibilities for presidential security to the State Security Services, which were headed by the president's brother, Janysh. The most reliable National Guard troops were accordingly folded into a new unit, dubbed Arystan, which was under the control of the State Security Services.

The State Security Services were in charge of protecting the executive office building in Bishkek, known locally as the White House, on April 7, a spokesman or Kyrgyz Ministry of Defense told EurasiaNet.org on April 12.

In addition, the State Security Services' K-9 dog squad in 2009 received training at the Manas Transit Center. [For background click here].

US ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, Tatiana Gfoeller, is on record as saying the Kyrgyz military and security services received abundant US equipment. Cooperation included "providing training to security forces," Gfoeller said when speaking at the opening of a US-funded Kyrgyz Special Forces training compound in Tokmok in October 2009. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

The US Department of Defense has not responded to queries about what, if any, monitoring procedures were in place to follow how Kyrgyz authorities were making use of US equipment and training.

Some Bishkek-based political analysts say that such monitoring and oversight did not appear to be a priority for the Defense Department. "The events of last week have highlighted a problem for the United States throughout the region. They [American officials] are working with highly authoritarian regimes in order to ensure the smooth flow of the Northern Distribution Network [a supply line for troops in Afghanistan]," said Paul Quinn Judge, Central Asia project director for the International Crisis Group.

"But authoritarian regimes don't always follow the rules Washington and the Department of Defense would like them to follow," Quinn-Judge added.