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OSH, Kyrgyzstan (TCA) — Right across the Tajik border and under the very noses of Russian and Indian military based near the frontier, it is all-out war again in the northeast of Afghanistan and there is a pretty good chance that Afghan government troops will bite the dust in the absence of American, or eventually Russian, Indian and/or Chinese air support. Only days after the Taliban announced its “spring offensive” throughout Afghanistan, the much-feared extremists already keep the initiative both in the southwest and the northeast. Only resumed infighting between extremist forces could bring some relief for a disenchanted population in the region. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — The latest row leading to the Kyrgyz Government’s resignation has been a perfect example of the negligence with which the outgoing cabinet treated the country’s urgent economic problems. Since the outgoing PM was a technocrat from outside of the three-party parliamentary coalition, the partnership remains intact with no outlook on so-called snap elections. But the problems faced by the new team need a much better approach than till now. Continue reading
OSH, Kyrgyzstan (TCA) — In the southwest of Kyrgyzstan, with its important Uzbek minority and arguable borders there is a potential cause for confrontation with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. At stake are precious irrigation water and mineral resources. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — There is something about economic forecasts proclaimed by institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank: in cases they are mildly positive, realities that follow them tend to be better, and in cases they are mildly negative, realities turn out to be worse. Forecasts and subsequent realities concerning Central Asia in this context appear not just unexceptional, but even exemplary. Continue reading
LONDON (TCA) — The dream of operating a railways system from China to Europe via Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan seems to have taken a detour since the present situation shows that with the exception of Kazakhstan, the other Central-Asian post-Soviet republics find themselves on the losing end of China’s rail expansion scheme – due to various “realities”. Continue reading
ALMATY (TCA) — Today in Central Asia several banks bearing fancy names and based in fancy offices have multiplied in places like minor-size former Soviet republics with no economic achievement to speak of — all over among local banks from Dushanbe to Baku in the former USSR’s “soft belly” stretching from the Pamir to the Caucasus. In this regard, only Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have kept aloof from cash trouble up till now. Continue reading
