SCO is useless -> can't do sh*t

[mDumb]

BACKGROUND:
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an intergovernmental international organization founded in Shanghai on 15 June 2001 by six countries: China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Its member states cover an area of over 30 million km2, or about three fifths of Eurasia, with a population of 1.455 billion, about a quarter of the world's total. Its working languages are Chinese and Russian.

Current turmoil in Kyrgystan:
OSH, Kyrgyzstan : Deadly gun battles raged in the Kyrgyzstan city of Osh where bodies littered the streets Monday as ethnic violence escalated and Uzbekistan raced to cope with a massive refugee influx.

Amid sporadic gunfire, charred corpses lay unattended in an ethnic Uzbek shop destroyed by petrol bombs, fires burned and Osh streets were littered with shell casings under an acrid, black pall of smoke.

Several days of clashes in Osh have left at least 117 dead and 1,000 wounded, according to an official toll. Some estimates have said 100,000 people have crossed the border into Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan is of key importance to the major powers as both the United States and Russia have military bases there and there is growing international concern over the unrest.

Bodies lay on streets across Osh where buildings smouldered while the burned carcasses of cars, trucks and felled trees were scattered on a road where intense fighting took place.

Shocked residents said the violence would have repercussions for generations to come. "We will never live together again," said Akbar, a local ethnic Uzbek man wandering the streets in Osh carrying a hatchet.

Intermittent gunfire was heard in Osh on Monday while further to the north in the city of Jalalabad the violence was reportedly still in full swing.

"The situation got worse in Jalalabad," the deputy chief of Kyrgyzstan's interim government, Temir Sariyev, told reporters in Bishkek.

"There are local clashes and it is not yet possible fully to contain the situation. Armed groups are breaking through here and there and this is linked to the fact that our forces are insufficient" to control the situation.

The violence exploded Friday in Osh when ethnic Kyrgyz gangs began attacking shops and homes of ethnic Uzbeks, igniting tensions between the two dominant ethnic groups in the region that have simmered for a generation.

Experts stress however that despite the clear ethnic component of the violence, it is also directly related to political turmoil in the highly clannish ex-Soviet republic where a revolt -- against a president whose power base was in the south -- occurred just two months ago.

The violence has sent tens of thousands of refugees, most of them ethnic Uzbeks but also a large number of Tajiks, flooding over the border into Uzbekistan where authorities have scrambled to get help to them.

AFP is the only Western media outlet permanently accredited in Uzbekistan and an AFP reporter in the eastern Khujaobad district said aid workers were racing to provide care for tens of thousands of refugees.

"We have settled 2,500 refugees here since Saturday," said Ikromiddin Valiyev, an official in charge of organizing refugee accommodation on the grounds of a factory in the area.

"We are receiving aid from all the regions of the country. Yesterday, 200 trucks with tents and other supplies arrived from Samarkand" in southeast Uzbekistan, he said.

Estimates on the numbers of refugees that have flooded into Uzbekistan in recent days after fleeing the carnage in Kyrgyzstan vary, but several officials say the total could top 100,000.

Uzbek military helicopters flew along the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border while military personnel were seen setting up field kitchens and medical facilities in other districts in eastern Uzbekistan.

Kyrgyzstan's interim president, Roza Otunbayeva, on Saturday appealed to Russia to send military assistance to help quell the violence.

The Kremlin agreed to send humanitarian aid but has so far said conditions are not in place for any involvement of Russian forces in restoring order.

Russia leads a regional security body, the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO), grouping ex-Soviet republics in Central Asia that was reportedly considering deployment of a rapid-reaction force to the region.

Both Russia and the United States maintain military facilities in Kyrgyzstan outside of Bishkek and Russia on Sunday dispatched paratroopers to reinforce security at its base.

EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton said Monday she was "very concerned" at the unrest in Kyrgyzstan. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon expressed alarm at the violence on Sunday.

- AFP/ir

UNITED NATIONS : The UN Security Council on Monday condemned the bloody violence in restive Kyrgyzstan and pressed for a return to law and order along with a peaceful resolution of differences.

The council's 15 ambassadors "condemned continued acts of violence" there and urged "calm, a return of rule of law and order and a peaceful resolution of differences," according to Mexican Ambassador Claude Heller.

After being briefed on the latest developments in the central Asian republic, council members also stressed the need "to support the delivery of humanitarian assistance in an urgent manner," he added.

Earlier Monday, Uzbekistan ordered its frontier closed to an exodus of refugees fleeing deadly violence in neighboring Kyrgyzstan where government forces were accused of helping gangs slaughter ethnic Uzbeks.

Ethnic Uzbeks and Tajiks have flooded into Uzbekistan in the four days of bloodshed around the southern cities of Osh and Jalalabad which has left at least 138 dead and 1,761 wounded, according to authorities.

The violence exploded Friday in Osh when ethnic Kyrgyz gangs began attacking the shops and homes of ethnic Uzbeks, igniting tensions between the two dominant groups in the region that have simmered for a generation.

The unrest comes barely two months after Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev was overthrown in a popular uprising. Bakiyev's stronghold is in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Also Monday, Navi Pillay, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, called on Kyrgyz authorities to act firmly to end the clashes which she noted appeared to be "orchestrated, targeted and well-planned."

She urged both Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to accept refugees.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees office meanwhile said it was preparing to deploy both aid supplies and staff with experience in dealing with emergencies to help the new arrivals in Uzbekistan.

With estimates of up to 100,000 people already inside Uzbekistan, that country's Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Aripov said the border would be shut, despite pleas from aid groups and the UN to leave it open.

He said Uzbekistan needs international humanitarian aid to cope. "If we have the ability to help them and to treat them of course we will open the border" again, he added. - AFP/jy

 

[xiazhi59362008]

I feel sad for you.

 

[mDumb]

<I feel sad for you.>

I don't think you realize how weak the SCO is. And yet they want to expand their memberships? Strengthen their framework, mission, infrastructure, etc. first before contemplating to expand their memberships.

China has invested an increasing amount of time and resources to make the SCO a success. Among other things, China pledged nearly $1 billion in loans to the SCO Central Asian members.

Sh&t I hope China is not pumping billions of RMBs to a sh&t hole.

"Kyrgyzstan's interim president, Roza Otunbayeva, on Saturday appealed to Russia to send military assistance to help quell the violence. "

WTF? Why not appeal to the SCO? These Central Asian countries need to realize that the Ruskies are not their master or savior anymore (i.e., USSR has disappeared).

Clearly the SCO lacks the military power or will they need RRF (Rapid Reaction Force) that can be deployed within 24 hours.

I would like to see the Snow Leopard Commando Unit to get into action in Kyrgystan. It's time for this unit to kick some *****.

 

[prototype]

first of all SCO is neither equivalent to UN or NATO,its just an economic cooperation,so stop comparing it to both organizations,it is more like G-20 or BRIC

 

[mDumb]

<first of all SCO is neither equivalent to UN or NATO,its just an economic cooperation,so stop comparing it to both organizations,it is more like G-20 or BRIC>

It's to counter the NATO or US influence in Central Asia. Its ultimate goal is to counter NATO. You realized that NATO has gone beyond its traditional periphery or border (Europe).

 

[prototype]

just look at the members of SCO,except russia and china,no one else is even compared as a power,look at the NATO,if u took world's 20 biggest economies 75% can b found in NATO,why do u think that SCO will even lock horns with NATO,except Russia no other nation in SCO holds guts to face the NATO

 

[no_name]

Looking at it, even the UN don't do alot these days.

 

[mDumb]

<just look at the members of SCO,except russia and china,no one else is even compared as a power,look at the NATO,if u took world's 20 biggest economies 75&#37; can b found in NATO,why do u think that SCO will even lock horns with NATO,except Russia no other nation in SCO holds guts to face the NATO>

OK, you've added your 1 cent and confirmed that SCO got work cut out for them as already stated.

The immediate goal for SCO is to really form RRF to handle a situation like in Kyrgyztan.

NOTE: NATO is really a US apparatus. Its supreme commander is usually a US general or admiral.

<Looking at it, even the UN don't do alot these days.>
So are we keep putting money into sh&t holes?

Look at what happened to US economy or California economy? California is probably the richest state in the union and its economy is fucked up (i.e., cannot even maintain roads, library hours, teachers, parks, etc.).

We all know China's got money but if China is not careful to spend its money is gonna end up like US (keep printing the George Washington bills).

 

[applesauce]

the money is not all lost my friend
those deals for pipeline etc are comming along and i bet the loans and such have a lot to do with it. and also if need the SCO can be the basis of which a protection force can be created in the future to protect those lines if necessary

also maybe china and russia is the only real powers in this but the CARs have resources, the more opportunity to talk the better

 

[oct605032048]

the very begining of SCO is not to counter US, but to provide a multi-party forum for China and Russia to talk about their common back yards and, which is very important to avoid any serious confronts between the two giants.
Providing sovereign garantee to the little former soviet satelite countries is one of the byproduct.

Within the forum, China settled all the border disputes that lasts for decades and even a century with the MidAsiastans without causing any millitary or political intension. That is a diplomat success not only to China but also to all the country in the neighbourhood.

Only after we settle down the border can we talk about oil, gas and railway. and that (should leads to FTA) will shape the geo-political map of the region within 20 or 50 years.

China is a nation with more than 2000 years' wisdom, they should always do the right thing and wait for the right time. Obviously this is not a right time for China to stand out in the region, that will make the Russians nervous,and Russian too reluctant to move forward for the same reason. Afterall it is Kylkistan's internal affair, it is up to them to deside whom to call for help.

 

[mDumb]

<the very begining of SCO is not to counter US, but to provide a multi-party forum for China and Russia to talk about their common back yards and, which is very important to avoid any serious confronts between the two giants. >

You better revise your thinking or understanding on SCO. Read below.

The Shanghai Five, a cooperative forum encompassing China, Russia, and the Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, became the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in 2001, with the inclusion of Uzbekistan.

China's backing for an SCO charter at the organization's meeting last year in St. Petersburg, and a permanent secretariat and anti-terrorism center at this year's meeting in Moscow, reflects its desire to strengthen the SCO in countering U.S. influence in Central Asia.

Beijing has three reasons for wanting to minimize U.S. sway over the region. Firstly, China fears that, with an American ally in their midst, Central Asian states will pay less heed to Chinese political demands than before.

Secondly, China worries that efforts to augment its economic influence in Central Asia will be compromised by U.S. support for American petroleum companies in winning concessions from regional governments at China's expense.

Thirdly, with military bases close to China's western borders, Washington has the option of helping Beijing flush out Xinjiang terrorists operating in Central Asia, or putting direct military pressure on China if it perceives a threat from that country.

The U.S. military presence and slow progress in institutionalizing the SCO seem to have put the burgeoning Chinese influence in Central Asia on the defensive.

< Afterall it is Kylkistan's internal affair, it is up to them to deside whom to call for help.>

The fact that the Kyrgztan government appealed to Russia for help indicated that the SCO is weak or still weak to handle the situation.

<the money is not all lost my friend>
I sure hope so. I hope the Beijing government is not overextending itself by loaning or spending money for soft-power.

Perhaps the government auditing body should get involve to ensure the money doesn't go to too many sh&t holes.