Kyrgyzstan Government Overthrown?

[troutman]

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapc...ex.html?hpt=T1

Civil unrest engulfed the politically troubled central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday, with the government declaring a state of emergency and street fighting in the capital resulting in at least 40 deaths, according to reports.

[frinkprof]

I hate this country because I can never spell it right when I take the Countries of the World quiz on Sporcle.

http://www.sporcle.com/games/world.php

Seriously though, that sucks.

[mikey_the_redneck]

That's what happens when your leadership puts your nations' people under insurmountable debt...

..I wonder how bad it will get in the U.S. in a few years...

[CaptainCrunch]

Hey don't blame me, I voted for the other guy

[Locke]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Hey don't blame me, I voted for the other guy

"I voted for Kodos."
"We're BOTH Kodos!"

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

That's what happens when your leadership puts your nations' people under insurmountable debt...

..I wonder how bad it will get in the U.S. in a few years...

Where did you get that from?

From what I have read the issue is government corruption.

[worth]

Ray: Well, first of all, Mr. Mayor, it's a great pleasure to see you again, and we'd just like to say that almost 50% of us voted for you in the last election.

[Wookie]

Hopefully Tom Hanks doesn't get stuck in an airport again.

[mikey_the_redneck]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Where did you get that from?

From what I have read the issue is government corruption.

Yes, corruption and the bank bail outs........almost one and the same. Their government is looting the people there because they are in massive debt. Apparently, the government tried to hike utility costs and that was the straw that broke the camels back. Their people are broke.

[Rathji]

Am I the only one who thinks the OP just mashed keyboard keys to get a believable country name?

[Bill Bumface]

^Your joke would have been funny without the green.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

Yes, corruption and the bank bail outs........almost one and the same. Their government is looting the people there because they are in massive debt. Apparently, the government tried to hike utility costs and that was the straw that broke the camels back. Their people are broke.

Kyrgyzstan had bank bail outs?

Originally Posted by hulkrogan

^Your joke would have been funny without the green.

Exactly sarcasm is supposed to be orange.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by frinkprof

I hate this country because I can never spell it right when I take the Countries of the World quiz on Sporcle.

http://www.sporcle.com/games/world.php

On April 1st there was a Sporcle game where Kyrgyzstan was the answer to every question.

[Nufy]

So we can expect another Borat Movie as well now ?????

[mikey_the_redneck]

Originally Posted by Yeah_Baby

Kyrgyzstan had bank bail outs?




Exactly sarcasm is supposed to be orange.

Sorry, I shouldn't have said "bank bail outs".
Kyrgyzstan is in huge debt to the World Bank/IMF institutions.

IMF makes a short statement about the situation here:
http://www.eurasianet.org/department...v031809a.shtml

Apparently the average Kyrgyzstanian makes the equivalent of a few hundred dollars a year....and this is where their "external" debt is at..
http://www.indexmundi.com/kyrgyzstan/debt_external.html

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by Nufy

So we can expect another Borat Movie as well now ?????

That was Kazakhstan.

[burn_this_city]

$3.5B in debt isnt going to collapse their economy.

[Stumptown]

I just did a Kiva loan to someone in Kyrgyzstan a couple weeks ago. Even though it's a lame kind of personal connection, I really do hope Siyagul, her family, and livestock are all OK.

The Kyrgyz opposition have long objected to the US military base, and if the new govenment kick the US out it will be a big deal. Could be just the leverage they need to get a little investment from the US. If I remember the story right, the US isn't paying a dime for the use of the base, and not purchasing or hiring anyone locally. I'd be pissed off, too.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by mikey_the_redneck

That's what happens when your leadership puts your nations' people under insurmountable debt...

..I wonder how bad it will get in the U.S. in a few years...

Yes, very comparable situations.

Sarcasm aside, we don't need governmentally caused socio-economic problems as a motivation to kill each other.

[RedHot25]

Originally Posted by Stumptown

If I remember the story right, the US isn't paying a dime for the use of the base, and not purchasing or hiring anyone locally. I'd be pissed off, too.

According to this story, your memory may be a off a little....

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...21/?cmpid=rss1

Last year, Mr. Bakiyev successfully played Moscow and Washington against each other. After extracting a $2-billion (U.S.) aid package from Moscow, he ordered the base closed to U.S. military aircraft. But the Obama administration managed to negotiate continued use of Manas in exchange for a much higher fee – a reported $60-million annually, plus huge payments for fuel and supplies, many of which were funnelled through state-controlled entities run by Mr. Bakiyev’s family and friends.

Also, according to this story, you are right, the US base seems to be in a bit of uncertainty at the moment: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1527239/

Kyrgyzstan’s self-proclaimed new leadership said on Thursday that Russia had helped to oust President Kurmanbek Bakiyev, and that they aimed to close a U.S. airbase that has irritated Moscow.

....

No sooner had presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev signed an arms reduction pact in Prague as part of an effort to “reset” strained relations than a senior official in Mr. Medvedev’s delegation urged Kyrgyzstan’s new rulers to shut the base.

The official, who declined to be named, noted that Mr. Bakiyev had not fulfilled a promise to shut the Manas airbase, which the United States uses to supply NATO troops in Afghanistan. He said there should be only one base in Kyrgyzstan – a Russian one.


Omurbek Tekebayev, a former Kyrgyz opposition leader who took charge of constitutional matters in the new government, said that “Russia played its role in ousting Bakiyev”.


“You’ve seen the level of Russia’s joy when they saw Bakiyev gone,” he told Reuters. “So now there is a high probability that the duration of the U.S. air base’s presence in Kyrgyzstan will be shortened.”