In the wake of last weekend’s deadly attack in Tajikistan, and in response to general concerns about security in the Central Asian region, two regional security organizations announced they will help provide security in the Kyrgyz Republic in the tense run-up to its October parliamentary elections.
The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) must become a real instrument for guaranteeing security.
Moscow will have to pay much more attention to Central Asia than it has until now. Kyrgyzstan was just a warning bell. We may yet be forced, however, to return to problems there as well.
Presidents Obama and Medvedev should be seeking the advice of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan’s presidents with the aim of working together to form an international action plan on Kyrgyzstan.
The most pressing challenge will be to feed, treat, and provide shelter for the refugee population currently in Uzbekistan, almost all of whom are women, children, elderly, or injured men.
