German FM lauds Kyrgyzstan as a stable democracy in a volatile region

German Foreign Minister Steinmeier has visited the central-Asian Republic of Kyrgyzstan, praising the country as a "living democracy." However, he also highlighted the growing threat posed to the region by extremism.

Deutsche Welle, 1 April 2016

 Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Almazbek Atambayev

While touring Bishkek, the capital of the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier promised to deliver further funds in aid to help the country maintain a stable democracy. Following a meeting with President Almazbek Atambayev, Steinmeier announced that Kyrgyzstan paid an "exceedingly important contribution to guaranteeing stability in the region as a living, parliamentary democracy."

With the so-called "Islamic State" movement gaining influence in the region and recruiting a fast-growing number of locals to fight for them in Syria and Iraq, Steinmeier also stressed that a strong democracy provided a good measure to prevent "radicalism and fundamentalism from taking hold."

Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Erlan Abdyldaev said, however, that in order maintain that standard, the country needed more money.

"We also wish for our country to be open and democratic. But democracy cannot thrive in poverty," he said, according to the German DPA news agency.

A lifeline out of poverty

With the country's economy relying largely on the mining of coal and gold, 40 percent of its 5.7 million-strong population are currently living below the poverty line, according to the International Monetary Fund. But with Russia's economy dragging many of its former Soviet republics down as well, stability and safety come at a cost, which the landlocked republic can barely afford.

Kyrgyzstan was Steinmeier's second stop in a three-day-tour of the region. Having visited Uzbekistan earlier, the foreign minister prepared to head for his final stop on the itinerary, Tajikistan, where he is due to meet with authoritarian President Emomali Rahmon, who has been ruling over the impoverished mountain state since it broke off from the USSR in 1991.

ss/jr (dpa)

Xi and Putin driving Eurasia resurgence, says Duowei

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2015-07-13

Chinese president Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir
Putin in the Russian city of Ufa, July 10, 2015. (Photo/Xinhua)

Chinese president Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin are actively driving the resurgence of Eurasia, reports Duowei News, a US-based Chinese political news outlet.

Xi and Putin were among the leaders who attended the "dual summit" of the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa — and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation — China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan —in the Russian city of Ufa on July 8-10.

In his speech at the BRICS summit, Xi called for the formation of a community of responsibility and common destiny based on mutual political trust, economic integration and cultural tolerance.

The importance Xi has placed on the dual summits reflects China's growing investment in diplomacy as part of the country's continuing plan to comprehensively deepen reforms, Duowei said.

Since coming to power in November 2012 as general secretary of the Communist Party, Xi has sought to strengthen ties with Africa and Latin America, as well as build a new type of "major powers" relationship with the US, Duowei said, though it is clear that his primary focus is firmly on Eurasia.

According to Duowei, China's main strategic emphasis now is Xi's ambitious "Belt and Road" initiative, which aims to boost connectivity and cooperation among countries in Eurasia. The two-tier project comprising the land-based Silk Road Economic Belt and the sea-based Maritime Silk Road is likely to be tied in with the newly formed, Beijing-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and New Development Bank (NDB), formerly the BRICS Development Bank, and its US$100 billion emergency reserve fund, of which China is the largest contributor with a share of 41%.

China is not the only country aiming for a Eurasia resurgence, Duowei said, adding that Russia as well as other emerging nations have also been moving towards developing stategies of regional integration.

This is not surprising given Eurasia's strong potential, Duowei said. Eurasia accounts for 75% of the world's population and holds a significant portion of the world's mineral resources. Up to 60% of the world's gross national product is attributable to Eurasia, and three-quarters of the world's known energy resources are also found on the Eurasia mainland, Duowei added, noting that proper strategies and management will reap massive benefits for every party in the long run.

The three main powers in Eurasia are the European Union, Russia and China, Duowei said. The EU is struggling with the Greek debt crisis, while Russia is reeling from the economic sanctions imposed as a result of its annexation of the Crimean penninsula from Ukraine last year, leaving China as the most important driving force of the region, Duowei added.

The unprecendented level of cooperation and integration developing across Eurasia provides cause for optimism, notwithstanding the instability caused by sluggish economies, terrorism, religious fundamentalism, environmental pollution, territorial disputes and military conflicts, Duowei said.

For Beijing, a prosperous Eurasia is not only the key to reviving China's slowing economy, it is the road to greater international credibility and authority, Duowei said. While there is still much integration to be coordinated and many obstacles to overcome, China must face these problems head on if it intends to succeed, Duowei added.

A limited attendance meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Heads

of State Council in the Russian city of Ufa, July 10, 2015. (Photo/CFP)

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Beijing ratifies protocol for nuclear-weapon-free treaty in Central Asia

Want China Times, Xinhua 2015-04-25

The 14th session of the 12th NPC Standing Committee held in the Great
Hall of the People in Beijing, April 24. (File photo/Xinhua)

China's top legislature on Friday ratified the protocol to the Treaty on Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (NWFZ) in Central Asia.

After approving the protocol, the National People's Congress Standing Committee declared that no security protocol or treaty will undermine the status of the NWFZ, and that all explanations and applications of the clauses in the protocol shall support the goal of the building of the NWFZ in Central Asia.

The protocol was signed by representatives of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States on May 6, 2014 in New York.

The protocol provides legally-binding assurances not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against parties to the NWFZ parties.

Enacted in 2009, the treaty commits the signatories, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, to refrain from developing, acquiring or possessing nuclear weapons.

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Silk Road, China's Grand Canal listed as World Heritage sites

Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-06-24

A view of Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province and starting point of the
Silk Road. (Photo/Xinhua)

The famous ancient Silk Road and China's Grand Canal, the world's longest artificial waterway, were inscribed on the list of World Heritage sites in Doha on Sunday.

Jointly submitted by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the application for adding part of the Silk Road, which served as a corridor for trade and cultural exchanges between Asia and Europe dating back to 2,000 years ago, to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list was approved by the World Heritage Committee at a session in the Qatari capital.

The application consists of 33 historical sites along the millennium-old trade route, including 22 in China, eight in Kazakhstan and three in Kyrgyzstan. They range from palaces and pagoda sites in cities to ruins in remote, inaccessible deserts.

It is the first time China has cooperated with foreign countries for a World Heritage nomination.

Du Yue, secretary general of the Chinese delegation at the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee, said the approval of the application would strengthen cultural exchanges between China and the two Central Asian nations.

He called for the three countries' close coordination to jointly protect and pass on the Silk Road heritage from generation to generation.

At Sunday's session, UNESCO also included the Grand Canal, with a history of more than 2,400 years, in the World Heritage list.

Participants at the meeting said the 1,794-km canal, which runs from Beijing to Hangzhou in eastern China's Zhejiang province, is a valuable fruit of the Chinese people's diligence and wisdom, adding that its inclusion has enriched the content of the World Heritage.

The Paris-based UNESCO oversees the system of granting World Heritage status to important cultural and natural sites around the globe.

The 38th session of the World Heritage Committee opened on June 15 and will continue through Wednesday.

A boat sails on the Wuxi section of China's Grand Canal, in Wuxi, east
 China's Jiangsu province, June 22, 2014. China's Grand Canal, the longest
 artificial waterway in the world, was inscribed on the World Heritage
list on June 22, 2014. (Xinhua/Huan Yueliang)

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Ex-Soviet trio sign trade bloc deal

A treaty to launch the Eurasian Economic Union spanning Russia, Kazahkstan and Belarus has been signed by the countries' presidents in the Kazahk capital. The bloc will come into being next January.

Deutsche Welle, 29 May 2014

Three ex-Soviet republics took the first step on Thursday to creating a trading bloc with a combined population of 170 million after years of tense negotiations. It still depends on approvals from the republics' parliaments.

Ukraine opted not to join the proposed bloc in February after an unprecedented to-and-fro wrangle with Russia over an alternative plan - aborted during unrest - to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union.

At Thursday's signing in Astana, Kazakhstan, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Eurasia bloc would enable the trio to strengthen their positions in global markets - alongside the EU, US and China.

The Eurasian deal stops short of introducing a single currency and delays the creation of a common energy market.

The treaty deepens a customs union created in 2010 and is supposed to guarantee the free transit of goods, services, capital and labor, as well as coordinated economic policy.

A compromise, says Lukashenko

Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko said before the signing that he was not fully happy with the deal, but hailed it as a compromise.

The agreement was "well-balanced," said President Nursultan Nazabayev of Kazakhstan whose energy riches leave Russia with little leverage.

The union should become a "powerful incentive for modernizing our economies," said Nazabayev, adding that he saw it as a "bridge between the East and the West."

Armenia and Kyrgyzstan have said that they want to join the union later.

The Eurasian Economic Union will base its executive body in Moscow, a high court in Belarus and a top financial regulator in Kazakhstan.

The office of Ukraine's newly elected president, Petro Poroshenko, said on Wednesday that he wanted to sign a landmark treaty with the EU soon after his inauguration as head of state.

Last November, Ukraine's then Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovych turned his back on an accord with the EU. His decision triggered protests, especially in Kyiv, that led to his ouster in February.

Putin began the drive to create the Eurasian union after asserting in 2005 that the break-up of the Soviet Union had been the "biggest geopolitical disaster" of the 20th century.

ipj/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)

China signs protocol to nuclear-free treaty in Central Asia

Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-05-07

Liu Jieyi, second left, and representatives of Russia, the United States,
France and Britain at the signing ceremony in New York, May 6. (Photo/Xinhua)

China on Wednesday signed a protocol to the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia.

"China supports the efforts of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia, which serves the purposes of strengthening the international non-proliferation regime, advancing the nuclear disarmament process, and promoting peace and security in the region and beyond," Chinese permanent envoy to the UN Liu Jieyi said in a statement.

China has made a solemn commitment of no-first-use of nuclear weapons at any time or under any circumstances, and promised that under no circumstances will it use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states and nuclear-weapon-free zones, the statement said.

"China is committed to strictly complying with the obligations of this protocol after signing and ratification," it said. "At the same time, China believes that any security agreement or treaty will not affect the position of the nuclear-weapon-free zone, and interpretation and application of all the provisions of this protocol must comply with its aim and purpose of establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia."

China hopes the protocol will enter into force at an early date and is willing to make joint efforts with the Central Asian countries to achieve the goal of the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons in the world, said the statement.

China signed the protocol with the five Central Asian countries at the UN headquarters together with Russia, the United States, France and Britain.

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Putin's power play jeopardizes Eurasian Union plans

Deutsche Welle, 15 March 2014

President Vladimir Putin aims to create an Eurasian Union where the Soviet Union once reigned. But Moscow's intervention in Crimea could make former Soviet republics think twice about deeper integration with Russia.

During his annual address to the Russian parliament back in 2005, President Putin publicly lamented the collapse of the Soviet Union, calling it "a major geopolitical disaster of the century." The former KGB man laid out his solution to this "disaster" in a 2011 newspaper editorial, in which he called for the creation of an Eurasian Union.

"First, none of this entails any kind of revival of the Soviet Union," Putin wrote in the daily Izvestia. "It would be naïve to revive or emulate something that has been consigned to history. But these times call for a close integration based on new values and a new political and economic foundation."

"We suggest a powerful supranational association capable of becoming one of the poles in the modern world and serving as an efficient bridge between Europe and the dynamic Asia-Pacific region," he continued.

Neighboring Belarus and Kazakhstan have signed up to join Russia in this integration project. In 2010, the three ex-Soviet republics formed a common customs union. Meanwhile, they have agreed to make the Eurasian Economic Union a reality by January 1, 2015.

Close, but not too close?

"According to Putin, it has to be a political alliance, not only the customs union, with supranational institutions that will be hosted by Moscow and apparently dominated by Russia," Lilia Shevtsova, a Russia expert with CarnegieMoscow, told DW.

'Anti-thesis to the West'

While Shevtsova described the Eurasian Union as Putin's "pet project," she said that the concept of Eurasianism as an ideology developed in early 20th century Russia as an "antithesis to the West."

"The major principle of Eurasianism is that Russia has to be the pole of a new civilization, which is situated on the huge Eurasian territory that includes a European part and an Asian part," Shevtsova said. "Russia is unique and Russia is not Europe."

"The Eurasian concept is based on such values as the Orthodox Church and the strength of the state," she said. "The state is much more important than individuals."

'EU without democracy'

In terms of its structure, the Eurasian Union is modeled on the European Union's political integration project, but without the emphasis on democracy and human rights, according to Amanda Paul, an expert on the Eurasian region at the in Brussels.

A handful of former Soviet republics, led by Russia, created the Eurasian Economic

Community (EAEC or Eurasec) in 2000 to serve as the motor of integration in the former Soviet space. The organization's institutional structure is similar to the defunct European Economic Community, the forerunner of the European Union. Eurasec has an interstate council, a permanent committee, an inter-parliamentary assembly and a court.

The interstate council consists of the Eurasec members' heads of state and makes decisions by consensus, while the permanent committee requires a two-thirds majority vote. Voting power in the committee is based on financial contributions. Russia wields 40 votes while Belarus and Kazakhstan each hold 20. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan possess 10 votes respectively.

Driven by realpolitik

According to Shevtsova, Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko opted to join because he "cannot go to Europe" due to his repressive policies, and "he cannot survive by himself" because of the country's economic problems. Meanwhile, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev hopes to use Russia to balance out China's economic influence in the Central Asian country, she said.

Last September, Armenia turned down an association agreement with the European Union, opting instead for the customs union with Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan. The Armenian deputy foreign minister, Shavarsh Kocharian, has said that Yerevan will be ready to join the customs union by mid-April.

Armenia has "chosen" to go
along with Russia's plan

"They basically didn't have any option but to ditch their agreement with the EU because of their reliance on Russia in many different sectors, obviously including energy security, economics and trade," Paul said.

"In the shared neighborhood with the EU, none of the countries want to join," she continued. "Russia is having to force them in there with all the sticks and whips it's got."

'Pop-up war syndrome'

According to Shevtsova, Kyiv is the "crown jewel" in Russia's Eurasian ambitions. A country of 45 million people, Ukraine has fertile agricultural land, an industrial base and lies right on Central Europe's doorstep.

"It was one of the key goals of Putin to get Ukraine into the orbit because a Eurasian Union…without Ukraine would have a very strong Asian face," she said.

But Moscow's intervention in Crimea could jeopardize the entire integration project. Ukraine has been driven even further into the West's arms by the de-facto Russian annexation of the Black Sea peninsula. The EU could sign the political chapters of an association agreement with Kyiv as early as March 20th.

Meanwhile, Belarus and Kazakhstan have failed to express strong public support for Moscow's position in Ukraine. Putin's doctrine of reserving the right to use military force to protect ethnic Russians might have Minsk and Astana worried. Nearly a quarter of Kazakhstan's population and eight percent of Belarus claim Russian ethnicity.

"If the Russians are allowed to get away with what they're doing in Crimea it sets a precedent to repeat this sort of behavior elsewhere," Paul said. "Russia is creating a sort of pop-up war syndrome. It doesn't like something so it creates a military confrontation."

HRW Says Kyrgyz Police Abuse Gay Men

Radio Free Europe, RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, January 29, 2014

A gay-rights demonstration in Kyrgyzstan

A new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) concludes that police in Kyrgyzstan have extorted, threatened, arbitrarily detained, beaten, and sexually abused gay and bisexual men.

The 65-page report is based on interviews with 40 gay and bisexual men in four regions of Kyrgyzstan.

It includes cases of severe physical violence against gay and bisexual men, including punching, kicking, and beating with gun butts, batons, empty beer bottles, or other objects.

Several gay men also reported sexual violence by police officers, including rape, group rape, and attempts to insert a stick, a hammer, or an electric shock device into their rectums, as well as gratuitous touching during a search or being forced to undress in front of police.

Anna Kirey, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights researcher at HRW, said that "gay and bisexual men in Kyrgyzstan already live in fear due to widespread homophobic attitudes, and the police are making a nightmarish situation even worse."

"The state has to publicly accept that it is taking place and must condemn on the highest level those kinds of crimes," she told RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service.

HRW is asking the Kyrgyz government to thoroughly investigate the reports.

It also wants Kyrgyzstan to establish a confidential complaint mechanism.

HRW said only two of the 40 men interviewed had filed complaints. Neither case led to anyone being held accountable.

However, Kyrgyz Interior Ministry spokesman Jorobai Abdraimov cast doubt on the accuracy of the HRW report.

"We do not know how much of the report by the international rights organization is true and how much is not," Abdraimov said. "If they really have facts saying that [homosexuals] had been beaten or tortured, then let them come to us and show us those facts. We will launch internal investigations into such facts. Or let other state bodies lead the investigations. Those kinds of complaints are thoroughly investigated."

Society in Kyrgyzstan, as in many other former Soviet republics where same-sex relations were decriminalized in the 1990s, remains generally hostile toward homosexuality.

Wen's trip deepens solidarity, mutual trust between China and Eurasian neighbors: FM

English.news.cn   2012-12-07     

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C,front) is welcomed by Kyrgyz Prime Minister
 Zhantoro Satybaldiyev (R, front) upon his arrival in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan,
Dec. 4, 2012. Wen Jiabao arrived here Tuesday to attend the 11th prime ministers'
meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and pay an official visit
 to Kyrgyzstan. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

SOCHI, Russia, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's trip to Kyrgyzstan and Russia have deepened solidarity and mutual trust and boosted convergence of interests between China and Eurasian countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Thursday.

Wen visited the two countries and attended the prime ministers' meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and the regular meeting between Chinese and Russian prime ministers.

Wen's trip also bore significance to the development of the SCO and the long-term development of ties between China and countries in the region, Yang, who was companying Wen during his three-day tour, told reporters.

In Kyrgyzstan, Wen attended the 11th prime ministers' meeting of the SCO and met with some of the leaders present at the meeting. He also met Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev and Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldiyev.

In Russia, Wen co-chaired the 17th regular China-Russia premiers' meeting with his counterpart Dmitry Medvedev and met with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The SCO, since its establishment 11 years ago, have scored outstanding achievements in cooperation in various fields and played an important role in promoting regional peace and prosperity, Yang said.

China have enjoyed sound development of bilateral ties with both Russia, a strategic cooperation partner, and Kyrgyzstan, a significant neighbor and the rotating president of SCO, Yang said.

SCO members have developed stronger willingness to deepen regional cooperation and cooperation with China against the backdrop of profound changes in the global and regional situations and in the face of increasing risks of global economic downturn. China faces fresh opportunities to develop ties with these countries, Yang said.

Wen reached consensus with various parties in enhancing pragmatic cooperation and boosting mutual development, Yang said, adding that Wen also signed a series of guiding documents, setting the direction for the development of the SCO as well as the development of bilateral relations with Russia and Kyrgyzstan.

Wen's trip reflected China's dedication to promoting peace, development and cooperation, and achieving win-win outcomes, Yang said, adding the visit was a complete success, which consolidated friendship, enhanced mutual trust, expanded common understanding and deepened cooperation.