FIGHTING FOR A PIECE OF THE PIE IN CENTRAL ASIA

Mehr News Agency, Iran
Sept 19 2005

TEHRAN, Sept. 18 (MNA) — Following the recent tension in the former
Soviet republics, the major regional powers have begun competing with
each other. They are by no means seeking the establishment of democracy
in the region but are rather trying to acquire their perceived share
of the pie.

Although many political analysts believe that the United States,
Russia, and the Zionist regime are competing with each other in the
region, others experts say that the main actors on this international
stage are the United States, Russia, and the European Union.

The region which took shape after the collapse of the Soviet Union
is like a blanket that is supposed to cover three people with each
of the three pulling the blanket toward himself.

Due to their strategic position for the establishment of a unipolar
world system, the former Soviet republics are of great significance
for the United States. Using the Afghanistan war as a pretext, the
U.S. was finally able to establish military bases in Central Asian
countries, although these republics only agreed to the U.S.

suggestion in order to free themselves from Moscow’s political
influence.

Meanwhile, a U.S.-based committee on freedom of religion recently
asked Washington to register Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan as two of
the world’s main violators of freedom of religion.

However, it should be noted that the case of Uzbekistan was only
brought up after it quit the GUAM organization and called for the
withdrawal of NATO military forces from its territory.

Moreover, the U.S. conservatives are now trying to turn the
Commonwealth of Independent States countries into a battlefield for
a new cold war. But, due to recent developments, the Central Asian
countries now believe that the presence of U.S. forces in their
territories is a significant destabilizing factor.

These countries are wary of U.S. claims about establishing democracy
and feel that the United States is using non-governmental organizations
to harm their national governments.

Along these lines, on July 5, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization
(SCO), which consists of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Tajikistan, China, and the Russian Federation, called on the United
States to announce a specific date for the withdrawal of its military
forces from Central Asia. This measure was taken due to the entrance
of new players in the region and the reduction of U.S. influence in
Central Asia.

One of the significant regional players is the Russian Federation.

Russia, which regards Central Asia as its backyard, has become
irritated by the growing regional influence of the United States,
the European Union, the Zionist regime, and China and consequently
is trying to weaken this influence through trying to limit and/or
cooperate with these countries, a strategy which it calls “expected
participation and mutual respect”.

First of all, Russia disagreed with Washington’s initiative on
“exporting democracy”! Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory
Karasin warned that Russia can not brook the imposition of methods
of “democratization” in the former Soviet republics, “colored
revolutions”, or info-political pressure on governments because
this would certainly lead to regional instability and unpredictable
repercussions.

The European Union, which began presenting itself as an influential
international player after changing its monetary system and expanding
eastward, considers Central Asia to be a region which can change the
attitude of developing countries toward its power and influence.

EU officials frequently comment on developments in Central Asia and
are trying to send a message to regional countries that they want to
participate in the regional democratization process by dispatching
electoral observers.

This is made clear by the EU measures and the remarks of Slovenian
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel, who is also currently the chairman
of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), in
which he said that the organization was determined to help the former
Soviet republics eradicate dictatorships and establish democratic
values in their countries.

In another development, it seems that the United States is no longer
willing to support these regional countries at any cost.

U.S. President George W. Bush recently sent a message to Kazakh
President Nur Sultan Nazarbayev asking him to hold a free democratic
election. Similar messages were then sent to the governments of the
Azerbaijan Republic and Armenia.

In addition, the U.S. Congress has approved bills to fund opposition
groups in these countries and in Moldova, where President Vladimir
Voronin was reelected due to the support of the United States.

The change in the U.S. geostrategy began with the September 11,
2001 terrorist attacks. These terrorist incidents in New York and
Washington forced the United States to review its relations with
loyal but authoritarian leaders of other countries.

The clearest manifestation of the new U.S. strategy can be witnessed
in its attitude toward the Andijan incidents. Uzbekistan, which had
always been dependent on the West, was also supported by the West in
its suppression of the unrest.