US Silent on Human Rights Abuses in Kyrgyzstan

In the lead up to presidential elections this week, violent attack escalated against those who openly oppose Kyrgyzstan's leadership. The U.S., which wants to maintain a vital air base in the country, has remained silent.

A number of opposition politicians and independent journalists have been attacked, even murdered, in recent months as Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev seeks to consolidate his power in advance of presidential elections. Yet, as Clifford Levy, of The New York Times, writes, the U.S. administration "has remained largely silent in response to this wave of violence, apparently wary of jeopardizing the status of its sprawling air base." The base, at Manas, has been a key strategic facility for the U.S. military's engagements in Afghanistan, which shares its eastern boarder with Kyrgyzstan. Every month about 15,000 troops and 500 tonnes of cargo are moved through the base. While it has been argued that the importance of Manas has increased as the American administration focuses its military efforts on Afghanistan, Manas is the last American military base in Central Asia. Earlier this year, Bakiyev declared that the American troops would be evicted from the base. However, a concerted effort from the White House administration last month succeeded in ensuring that America would retain control of the base. At the time, The New York Times declared the reversal in policy "a victory for the Obama administration as it seeks to step up operations to quell the Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan." The lack of criticism of abuses in Kyrgyzstan, as Levy notes, underscores how the "Obama administration has emphasized pragmatic concerns over human rights in dealings with autocratic leaders in Central Asia. Under pressure in Afghanistan, the administration has feared alienating nearby countries whose support is increasingly important." While State Department official, George A. Krol said that "The United States doesn’t shy away from raising [issues of violence] with the Kyrgyz authorities," Bakyt Beshimov, the campaign manager for a chief opposition candidate, Almazbek Atambaev, exclaimed that the Kyrgyz "regime clearly understand that for the United States, democracy is not a priority, freedom of speech is not a priority." In 2005, after sharp criticism from the American administration after security forces killed hundreds of citizens, Uzbekistan decided to shut down the U.S. military base there. Mindful of this, the current administration likely does not want to see a repeat of the closure in Kyrgyzstan. However, the silence from the White House promises to be contentious to individuals and groups working to end human rights violations in Kyrgyzstan and who abhor any action, or inaction, that would propagate abuses.