Update Kyrgyzstan

The past two days were heavily packed with Thinking-East work, but now the result is online (see earlier post).

Well, a lot has been happening in Kyrgyzstan - and I've been discussing the situation with a German journalist and also another 'expert'. By the latter, I refer to a staffer of the 'Deutsche Gesellschaft für Auswärtige Politik' (Germany's foreign policy think-tank), who has given an interview to Germany's best-visited website, the online edition of 'Der Spiegel', Spiegel Online. The article is available in English now for your reading pleasure. Well, it's not a pleasure, let me tell you that straight away.

Alexander Rahr can certainly claim to be an expert on Russian affairs and many other issues, but his Kyrgyzstan wisdom remains cloudy. I've written a letter to him (in German), though I doubt he'll answer. Though the interview is already a couple of days old, it's still worth reading in order to get a clue of what the German media takes up.

According to my sister, today's 'Bild am Sonntag' (tabloid) runs a small story on Kyrgyzstan:

"The upheaval in Kyrgyzstan is mostly initiated by mafia-clans", and "the situation is reminiscent of Iraq shortly after Saddam's downfall - a disoriented mass is vandalising and looting shops". Well you see what I mean...

A German journalist based in Moscow proved to be a lot more knowledgable. I replied to him (also in German) here and after his initial reply again here.

This editorial letters took my attention away from the blog - and now there's a lot of coursework to be done. I'll try to make a round-up tomorrow. In the meanwhile, check out 'The Registan', where Nathan, Laurence and Andy are doing a helluva job covering events in Bishkek.