CONFLICT IN KYRGYZ GOVERNMENT OVER MANAS TRANSIT CENTER
Leaders in Kyrgyzstan's government sent U.S. officials mixed messages about the future of the U.S. military base near Bishkek after the 2014 withdrawal from Afghanistan during diplomatic meetings on April 2. The Manas Transit Center is a strategic outpost for the transport of supplies and troops for the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan. President Almazbek Atambayev insinuated that all U.S. troops should leave the base by 2014, while his Defense Security Council Secretary Busurmankul Tabaldiev encouraged a continuing partnership based on a mutual interest in a stable Afghanistan. The president's position may be motivated by an interest in gaining a higher payment from the U.S. for rent of the base and U.S. officials have stated that they would consider this option. Last year, the U.S. paid $149 million dollars to rent the Manas Transit Center. (EurasiaNet, April 3, 2012)
SYRIAN REFUGEES SPILLING INTO TURKEY
"We have spared no efforts to accommodate Syrians fleeing the violence back home, but if they continue to arrive at this rate, we will need the U.N. and international community to step in," stated Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in early April regarding the regional implications of the conflict in Syria. Escaping from a violent crackdown by the Syrian government which has resulted in the death of almost 10,000 people, approximately 24,000 refugees have come to neighboring Turkey with the rate escalating significantly in April. Over less than a two-day period this month more than 2,000 Syrians fled to Turkey, causing the government to call on the United Nations for support. Kofi Annan, the Arab League and United Nations representative to Syria, has recently achieved agreement with the Syrian government on a de-escalation and ceasefire plan, but many, including the United States government, have expressed concern at recent increased violence and the lack of commitment by the Syrian government to achieve peace. (BBC, April 6, 2012)
MALIKI: THE NEXT ROGUE MIDDLE EASTERN LEADER?
Despite the purported success of the Arab League summit meeting in Baghdad in late March, Prime Minister Nouri al- Maliki's decisions in its wake have threatened the internal stability of Iraq as well as relations with its Middle East neighbors. Maliki's indefinite cancellation of the much-anticipated national reconciliation conference, scheduled for April 5 -- which was set to bring together Sunni, Shiite, and Kurdish members of the government -- further strained factional differences among the major ruling parties. On April 1, Maliki publicly supported allowing Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to remain in power, causing a backlash in both Saudi Arabia and Qatar, whose governments both support the Syrian uprising. Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi's recent visits to both countries, including meetings with high-level officials, attests to the distancing of the Saudi and Qatari governments from Maliki. Hashimi is wanted by Maliki's government on charges of terrorism. Official Saudi newspapers have questioned the trustworthiness of Maliki, labeled him an Iranian agent and even proposed sanctions, likening him to threatening leaders like al-Assad and even Saddam Hussein. (The Washington Post, April 4, 2012)
TAJIKISTAN AND UZBEKISTAN QUARREL OVER RESOURCES
On April 2, government officials in Tajikistan charged those in Uzbekistan with engendering a "humanitarian catastrophe" in an ongoing dispute over vital power and technological resources between the two countries. The Tajik government claims that Uzbek officials are deliberately halting gas supplies to Tajikistan and cutting off strategic trade routes through the dismantlement of a railroad leading to their country. The Uzbek Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyoyev countered that technical problems have stalled trade between the two countries as well as the demand of gas contracts with China. Two years ago Tajikistan's government voiced similar concerns that Uzbekistan was trying to isolate its country by blocking transportation and trade routes; a charge Dushanbe has made several times over the past decade. Last year, a bridge, which served as a strategic passageway to Tajikistan from Uzbekistan, exploded, in what Uzbek officials called a "terrorist attack;" alternative explanations directly implicate the Uzbek government. Experts have noted that Tashkent's underlying motivation may be to undermine Dushanbe's efforts to build dams and secure hydropower, which Uzbek officials view as threatening its own water supply, as well as force them to give up claims to other disputed water sources. Energy shortages in Tajikistan have delayed the construction of these hydropower plants. (EurasiaNet, April 5, 2012)