China offers humanitarian aid to Kyrgyzstan

fredius

A very generous move to help them to buy an appartment in Beijing.

[ Last edited by fredius at 2010-6-16 11:55 PM ]

fredius

BEIJING, June 16 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Wednesday that the Chinese government has offered emergency humanitarian aid to Kyrgyzstan.

The 5-million-yuan (732,064 U.S. dollars) aid was announced by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang Tuesday. It has been transported to Kyrgyzstan, the MOC said in a brief notice on its website.

The aid included medicine, medical equipment, food, drinking water, blankets and tents.

China offered assistance to Kyrgyzstan in order to promote the country's return to order and to bring peace as soon as possible to areas where ethnic rioting has flared, Qin said.

Ethnic clashes in southern Kyrgyzstan have left 170 people dead.

[ Last edited by fredius at 2010-6-17 12:02 AM ]

fredius

Originally posted by Baiquen at 2010-6-16 23:56
Well that is probably the best thing you could do, besides kill them out of kindness

Definitively... I am kidding.
Nice move.
But if you concidere that :
- China is the outside power that wields the most influence in Kyrgyzstan.
- the volume of bilateral Chinese-Kyrgyz trade almost tripled between 2004 and 2006, from $602 million to $1.64 billion.
-  In 2006, Chinese exports made up 94 percent of cross border commerce.
We could have expect a bit more from China.
Still, better few than nothing.

fredius

- There have been several serious outbreaks of Kyrgyz-Uzbek interethnic violence in the southern city of Osh, notably in 1990 - when hundreds were killed.
- There is tension between the Kyrgyz and Uzbek communities in the south over land and housing, and relations with Uzbekistan.
- Civil tensions over the curtailing of civil liberties, attacks on the media and undemocratic procedures.
- Kyrgyzstan also features in the US-Russian rivalry for control of Central Asia, as both powers have military air bases in the country.
- The government is worried about inroads by jihadist groups like Hizb-ut Tahrir, and there have been periodic outbreaks of fighting in the south. Most of the population of Kyrgyzstan is nominally Muslim, and there has been a growing interest in Islam among those seeking a new ethnic or national identity.
- Complaints have been increasing about Chinese migration, as many Kyrgyz themselves are forced to head to Russia in search of work (around 100 000 Chinese for 5.5 million inhabitants) despite positive effect on the Kyrgyz economy.
(sources : BBC / Eurasianet)

fredius

Originally posted by Baiquen at 2010-6-17 00:07
Sure, although I would expect more from the two powers that run military bases in Kyrgz territory!

Yes, I was talking about that in my next filtered post.
A small weal country but a major stategic issue.
"The US established an air base at the Manas international airport near Bishkek in late 2001 to support military operations in Afghanistan. President Bakiyev threatened to close it in October 2008 after agreeing to a Russian loan. He reversed the decision when the US agreed to more than triple its annual rent for the base.
Weeks later Kyrgyzstan tentatively agreed to allow Russia to open a second military base on its territory, apparently expanding Moscow's military reach to balance the US presence."