A long-term presence would give the NATO members some leverage over construction of gas pipeline projects in the region in line with Western interests.

 

April 09, 2010 (Hamsayeh.Net) - New interim government leaders in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan announced their desire to remove the strategic US-leased Manas airbase from under US military control.

 

The Manas is of an outmost strategic importance to the US-led war in Afghanistan, which the US has been claiming to wage against terrorism since nearly a decade ago.

 

Following two days of street battles and massive demonstrations in the capital city Bishkek and other major cities across Kyrgyzstan, a former government official led the new interim government from yesterday. The ousted president Kurmanbek  Bakiyev has fled to a southern city where he says he will not resign his post as the president.

 

The Manas airbase located 35 km from Bishkek, has been a controversial issue for most people in Kyrgyzstan. They say leasing of this base to Western powers undermines the country’s sovereignty and paves the way for US interference in Central Asia.

 

Most analysts believe the war in Afghanistan is just an excuse for the United States to overstretch its military presence in Central Asia.  A long-term presence would give the NATO members some leverage over construction of gas pipeline projects in the region in line with Western interests undermining regional stability.

   

The interim government headed by ex- foreign minister Roza Otunbayeva said they are going to write a new constitution within six months and prepare for a democratic election in the country. The opposition claims to be in full control over the situation in Kyrgyztan.

 

Over 75 people lost their lives and a thousand injured during the clashes that led to yesterday’s take over of the Kurmanbek Bakiyev government.