Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BISHKEK477
2008-05-14 11:15:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Bishkek
Cable title:
KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARIAN, LOCAL NEWSPAPER QUESTION
how-toVZCZCXRO3971 OO RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHLH RUEHPW DE RUEHEK #0477 1351115 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 141115Z MAY 08 FM AMEMBASSY BISHKEK TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1013 INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 2513 RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0905 RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2910 RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 2295 RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO BRUSSELS BE RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP RUMICEA/USCENTCOM INTEL CEN MACDILL AFB FL
C O N F I D E N T I A L BISHKEK 000477
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARIAN, LOCAL NEWSPAPER QUESTION
U.S. AIRBASE
Classified By: DCM Lee Litzenberger, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
C O N F I D E N T I A L BISHKEK 000477
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARIAN, LOCAL NEWSPAPER QUESTION
U.S. AIRBASE
Classified By: DCM Lee Litzenberger, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (SBU) Communist MP Iskhak Masaliyev publicly renewed his
opposition to the existence of the Manas Coalition Airbase.
During a May 12 session of Parliament's Committee on Defense,
Security, and Law Enforcement, Masaliyev urged committee
members to consider the question of the "expediency of
deploying coalition forces" in Kyrgyzstan. Masaliyev cited
the December 2006 shooting of a Kyrgyz truck driver by a base
airman and the September 2006 collision between a Kyrgyz
civilian airliner and a U.S. refueling tanker as reasons for
raising the issue. Committee Chair MP Leila Sydykova, from
the ruling Ak Jol party, turned down his request, noting that
the issue wasn't urgent. Masaliyev reportedly sent his
request to four other committees and has vowed to raise the
issue during a plenary session.
2. (SBU) Separately, the May 14 edition of "Delo Nomer"
carried a full-page article titled "Renter with the American
Airbase," which detailed a dispute between a Kyrgyz landlord
and her tenant, an American civilian contractor from the
airbase, over $50,000 in damage from a fire. The article
states (mistakenly) that under the base agreement, servicemen
and civilians working at the base are immune from Kyrgyz
laws. The article also quotes a section of the agreement
that authorizes the U.S. government to determine the amount
of compensation to be paid in the event of damages, and then
closes by stating, "Maybe it is time to reconsider the base
agreement."
3. (C) Comment: While it has been relatively quiet recently
regarding any public discussion of the presence of the
airbase, the issue is never far from the front page.
Masaliyev has consistently opposed the presence of the
Coalition Airbase in Kyrgyzstan, so his remarks do not come
as a surprise. His appeal is not likely to gain traction in
parliament as long as the government and ruling party want to
keep the issue off the agenda. There's no question at the
present time of government support for the base, but these
incidents serve as reminders that there are elements in
Kyrgyz society that don't want the base here. In a May 13
meeting with the Ambassador, presidential foreign policy
advisor Islan Ryskulov again raised the shooting incident as
the first item on his agenda, and stressed the urgency of
completing the U.S. investigation in order to "come to
closure" on the issue.
YOVANOVITCH
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR SCA/CEN
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/13/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR KG
SUBJECT: KYRGYZ PARLIAMENTARIAN, LOCAL NEWSPAPER QUESTION
U.S. AIRBASE
Classified By: DCM Lee Litzenberger, Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).
1. (SBU) Communist MP Iskhak Masaliyev publicly renewed his
opposition to the existence of the Manas Coalition Airbase.
During a May 12 session of Parliament's Committee on Defense,
Security, and Law Enforcement, Masaliyev urged committee
members to consider the question of the "expediency of
deploying coalition forces" in Kyrgyzstan. Masaliyev cited
the December 2006 shooting of a Kyrgyz truck driver by a base
airman and the September 2006 collision between a Kyrgyz
civilian airliner and a U.S. refueling tanker as reasons for
raising the issue. Committee Chair MP Leila Sydykova, from
the ruling Ak Jol party, turned down his request, noting that
the issue wasn't urgent. Masaliyev reportedly sent his
request to four other committees and has vowed to raise the
issue during a plenary session.
2. (SBU) Separately, the May 14 edition of "Delo Nomer"
carried a full-page article titled "Renter with the American
Airbase," which detailed a dispute between a Kyrgyz landlord
and her tenant, an American civilian contractor from the
airbase, over $50,000 in damage from a fire. The article
states (mistakenly) that under the base agreement, servicemen
and civilians working at the base are immune from Kyrgyz
laws. The article also quotes a section of the agreement
that authorizes the U.S. government to determine the amount
of compensation to be paid in the event of damages, and then
closes by stating, "Maybe it is time to reconsider the base
agreement."
3. (C) Comment: While it has been relatively quiet recently
regarding any public discussion of the presence of the
airbase, the issue is never far from the front page.
Masaliyev has consistently opposed the presence of the
Coalition Airbase in Kyrgyzstan, so his remarks do not come
as a surprise. His appeal is not likely to gain traction in
parliament as long as the government and ruling party want to
keep the issue off the agenda. There's no question at the
present time of government support for the base, but these
incidents serve as reminders that there are elements in
Kyrgyz society that don't want the base here. In a May 13
meeting with the Ambassador, presidential foreign policy
advisor Islan Ryskulov again raised the shooting incident as
the first item on his agenda, and stressed the urgency of
completing the U.S. investigation in order to "come to
closure" on the issue.
YOVANOVITCH