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  • Kyrgyzstan not involved in illegal arms trade - paper

    Kyrgyzstan not involved in illegal arms trade - paper

    MSN, Bishkek
    7 Jan 05


    A Kyrgyz paper has denied Internet reports to the effect that
    Kyrgyzstan sold a helicopter gunship to Liberia in violation of a UN
    embargo. The paper said the helicopter was sold in 1998 to a firm from
    the Republic of Guinea. However, Kyrgyzstan does sell outdated
    Soviet-era armaments to ease the acute lack of funds in the army, the
    paper added. The following is an excerpt from the article entitled
    "Tanks do not fire in political wars. They are sold", written by Yuriy
    Gruzdov and published by MSN newspaper on 7 January; subheadings
    inserted editorially:

    Kyrgyzstan is not trading in weapons violating international military
    embargoes. But it does not intend to cede its niche in the world arms
    market to anyone.

    Kyrgyzstan accused of illegal arms trade

    At the end of 2004, information appeared on many web sites in the
    Internet related to illegal arms trade by Kyrgyzstan. An idea was
    persistently suggested in it that weapons to Africa are sold via our
    country as well.

    Referring to a report by Amnesty International, a London-based human
    rights organization, these publications highlighted as an example the
    fact that a Mi-24 military helicopter had been sent to Slovakia from
    Kyrgyzstan for maintenance. However, it had not returned and been sold
    to Liberia in violation of a UN embargo on selling weapons to that
    country. Another military helicopter from Kyrgyzstan was to end up
    there as well but was intercepted.

    Internet report out of date

    It is a sensation! Absolutely, if not for such a circumstance that a
    six-year old story is twisted to agree with contemporary
    realities. Moreover, there is no information substance in it.

    MSN correspondents dealt with this topic back in 2001. A journalist
    investigation coincided with the time of a visit by Martin Chungong
    Ayafor, chairman of a committee for sanctions under the UN Security
    Council, to Kyrgyzstan. At that time he arrived in our country with
    the aim of checking facts related to Kyrgyzstan selling military
    helicopters to one of the fighting republics in Africa.

    Naturally, the results of his visit were not widely publicized, since
    it touched upon not only military secrets, but state secretes as well,
    for selling military equipment and weapons is an exclusive prerogative
    of the government and president. Military servicemen only fulfil
    orders at such deals. But we still managed to learn the main details
    of the event.

    As it transpired, one European and several African states, the UN
    Security Council and a former general from Kyrgyzstan were involved in
    the scandal with the Kyrgyz helicopters.

    So, the Kyrgyz government did sell two military helicopters to a
    company that officially represented the Republic of Guinea in
    1998. The sale was carried out in full accordance with international
    legislation. Before the conclusion of the contract, the country's
    special services checked whether Guinea was at war and whether it was
    listed with the UN as an "unreliable" state. A positive resolution was
    issued by the leadership of other ministries and the Foreign Ministry
    while agreeing the deal. The latter underlined that the deal would in
    no way tarnish Kyrgyzstan's image in the international arena.

    Then servicemen broke up the helicopters and loaded them on lorries,
    which the buying company's staff drove up to the military aerodrome
    based in Kant Kyrgyz north . And, as the saying goes, we waved goodbye
    to the helicopters being taken away. But the high-ranking UN official
    arrived in Kyrgyzstan just to find out how the helicopters ended up in
    Slovakia and one of them in Africa after maintenance. Martin Ayafor,
    chairman of the committee for sanctions under the UN Security Council,
    established that accompanying documents confirmed the fact of sending
    two helicopters to Slovakia from Kyrgyzstan for maintenance. The order
    for maintenance was placed in accordance with all rules and was signed
    by Maj-Gen Rashid Urazmatov, a representative of the armed forces of
    the Kyrgyz Republic at the Moscow staff for coordinating military
    cooperation, based on a power of attorney issued by the Kyrgyz Defence
    Ministry. The signature of Maj-Gen N. Chomoyev, who was then the head
    of the main staff of the Kyrgyz armed forces, was at the bottom of
    that document. But an investigation established that neither he nor
    any other official of the Defence Ministry had done this. Moreover,
    such documents undergo obligatory registration at the Defence
    Ministry, but this had not been done either.

    Gen Urazmatov himself actually could have told us about who put a
    signature on the power of attorney but he quit our army due to health
    conditions on the eve of the scandal and preferred not to appear
    within sight of concerned parties. The head of that company that
    initially bought helicopters in Kyrgyzstan legally and then exposed
    our country almost as a supplier of weapons to hot spots of the planet
    disappeared in unknown direction as well. After the incident, any
    activity of any company that represented the Republic of Guinea was
    prohibited on our country's territory.

    It is possible that relevant services of the UN Security Council have
    fully unravelled this incident. It cannot be excluded that a scheme
    which the mediators and main actors in this incident with the Kyrgyz
    helicopters used has already been revealed. But probably only special
    services possess this information, and they are unlikely to publish it
    in the near future.

    Kyrgyzstan sells arms to help cash-strapped army

    As is known, Kyrgyzstan gave up a large army long ago. Also, in its
    military doctrine Kyrgyzstan proceeds from the fact that it will bring
    its troops into accordance with new political-military and
    strategic-military tasks, directed at preventing potential threats to
    national interests, in the near future. All this requires maintaining
    ammunition and equipment in order. Military subunits are also to be
    equipped with the most up-to-date equipment.

    But an acute budget deficit does not allow servicemen to possess the
    whole range of modern weaponry. This is why it is extremely hard to
    find solution to the main task - establishing compact, combat-ready,
    technically equipped and mobile subunits. It is primarily so because
    military units of the Defence Ministry possess Soviet-made equipment
    which has been used and stored for over 30 years (some systems and
    ammunition for over 40 years).

    Passage omitted: old military equipment requires maintenance

    Unfortunately, industrial enterprises in the country are not capable
    of carrying out full maintenance of tanks, armoured military vehicles,
    aircraft and helicopters. Full maintenance of only one T-72 tank costs
    14m soms some 340,000 dollars , Mi-8MTV helicopter 30m soms some
    650,000 dollars , MiG-21 aircraft over 26m soms some 635,000 dollars ,
    in neighbouring foreign countries. This is not including transport and
    other expenses. The government is incapable of providing such money to
    servicemen neither currently nor in the near future.

    We indeed receive assistance from many states in the military field,
    and Russia, China and the USA top the list. But that is extremely
    insufficient. Therefore, selling surplus weaponry and military
    equipment the further use of which is deemed purposeless from the
    military and economic viewpoints remains one of the main areas of
    attracting additional sources of extra-budget financing. To be
    absolutely frank, scrap metal is frequently sold to customers in the
    guise of aircraft, helicopters, armoured technology and other items,
    for most of the items for sale simply cannot be restored in local
    conditions. The only thing that can attract potential customers of
    military goods is low prices.

    Actually, this factor works not always either, and tonnes of military
    equipment rot and rust in military storage bases, and probably no-one
    will now be able to sell it.

    This very trend has been lately traced in trade operations related to
    selling production of the Kyrgyz military-industrial complex
    abroad. The number of deals has decreased.

    By the way, it should be clarified what goes abroad from Kyrgyzstan.
    Primarily these are all special products produced by our defence
    enterprises. And of course - the aforementioned Soviet era "surplus".

    Passage omitted: military enterprises unsuccessfully attempted to sell
    products abroad after independence

    More cooperation urged with CIS enterprises

    The loss of a number of markets due to tough competition with
    developed Western countries' monopolistic structures, and those of
    China lately, has had a very negative effect on the defence
    sphere. But after the establishment of the commission for military and
    technical cooperation with foreign states (in 2000), the situation
    started to improve. The commission with powers of an executive body
    has provided coordination, planning and control of the activity of
    entities of military and technical cooperation within the framework of
    international law. Thus, a qualitatively new step meeting current
    realities was taken.

    An international and internal legal basis for the activities of
    entities of military and technical cooperation on military export and
    import issues had already been established by that time. On the legal
    basis of military and technical cooperation, it is necessary to
    underline that international agreements play a certain role in this
    case. Kyrgyzstan is a participant in over 15 documents which were
    signed by heads of state, government and defence departments of the
    CIS and CSTO Collective Security Treaty Organization member states.
    Kyrgyzstan reached military and technical cooperation agreements on an
    international level with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia and other
    countries.

    Passage omitted: Arabian states do not want USSR-produced weapons

    What does Kyrgyzstan have left to do in such conditions? It needs to
    establish close contacts with Rosoboroneksport, a Russian federal
    state unitary enterprise; the Ukrainian Defence Ministry state
    enterprise Lugansk aviation and maintenance plant; Aerostar
    aviation-industrial group (Romania); Kazakh and Belarusian enterprises
    involved in export and import operations with military production. Our
    country has managed to occupy its niche in the world market of
    military products with the help of these enterprises.

    Passage omitted: the article speculates who could post the report in
    the Internet
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