03 March 2002

U.S. Lawmakers in Bishkek Discuss Bilateral Issues, Terrorism

The United States is very grateful for the assistance provided by the Kyrgyz Republic "at a very difficult time for the world," especially its willingness to have anti-terrorism Coalition forces deployed on Kyrgyz territory, Congressman David Hobson said during a press conference in Bishkek March 3.

Hobson (Republican-Ohio), chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, was leading a bipartisan delegation on a fact-finding trip to the region.

He stressed that the U.S. Congress does not view the campaign against terrorism arising from the attacks of September 11 as a unilateral problem that the United States alone should solve, "but as a world problem in which we should all work together in a coalition."

In response to a question, Hobson said he does not believe that Coalition forces would be deployed in the Kyrgyz Republic permanently.

"We do have a plan to be here as long as it takes, and the government is receptive. So we'll be here as long as we're working toward a mutual goal of eliminating terrorism," he said.

He added that "we are very grateful that various types of Coalition forces are allowed to be here."

Rep. John Olver (Democrat-Massachusetts) noted that "no plans could be implemented without the negotiation and agreement of the parties with mutual respect for the interests of each."

Following is a transcript of the press conference provided by the American Embassy in Bishkek:

Other Members of the Delegation:

Rep. John Olver (Democrat-Massachusetts) Rep. Edward Royce (Republican-California) Rep. Robert Ney (Republican-Ohio) Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (Democrat-Texas) Rep. Thomas H. Allen (Democrat-Maine) Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (Democrat-Tennessee) Rep. Robert (Robin) Hayes (Republican-North Carolina) Rep. Mike Rogers (Republican-Michigan)

Ambassador O'Keefe: Good afternoon. I would like to thank you all for coming here today. We have with us a congressional delegation of nine people headed by Representative David Hobson, who has agreed to give today's press conference. He is joined by the senior Democrat of the delegation, Representative John Olver. Without any further ado, I'll turn things over to Chairman Hobson.

Representative Hobson: Good afternoon. This is my second visit to your country. I was first here in 1998 and I'm very pleased to be back again, this time with a bipartisan delegation. I am Chairman of the Military Construction Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee of the United States House of Representatives and my ranking subcommittee member is John Olver. We have seven other members from our Congress who are on various congressional committees, each here, as we are, to view the recent activities in this part of the region and to thank this country for its assistance at a very difficult time for the world. We are on a very tight time schedule, so John and I would like to entertain any questions that you might have.

Question From Itar-tass News Agency: What issues are you going to discuss with Prime Minister Bakiyev?

Representative Hobson: First of all, we are going to thank him for Kyrgyzstan's assistance, and then we are going to listen to him and ask him how we can work together with this country in the future and maintain a good relationship between our two countries. There may be certain areas that we need to work on as we try to ensure a peaceful transition in Afghanistan and we want to work together on that with the countries in this region. The Congress of the United States, I believe, does not view this as a unilateral problem, which the United States should solve, but as a world problem in which we should all work together in a coalition.

Question From Nhk Japanese Television: Do you have any plans to enlarge the military base at Manas Airport? Do you plan to enlarge the scale of operations here or lengthen the duration of the stay of your forces in Kyrgyzstan?

Representative Hobson: I don't think we have a plan for a permanent situation. We do have a plan to be here as long as it takes, and the government is receptive. So we'll be here as long as we're working toward a mutual goal of eliminating terrorism. Regarding the enlargement of our operations here, as far as I know, there may be some increases in force protection and things of that sort, but I don't see any enlargement. We are very grateful that various types of Coalition forces are allowed to be here. I think there is a perception that this is an American force here. This is a Coalition force and the Coalition will be, I believe, enlarged. As I understand it, there are a number of status of forces agreements being negotiated with various countries, such as Spain and others.

Representative Olver: I would just like to say that no plans could be implemented without the negotiation and agreement of the parties with mutual respect for the interests of each in the relationship and in executing the war on international terrorism, which is something that, we believe, is of importance to people far beyond just this room.

Question From The Tribuna Newspaper: I have two questions. Do you think the recent criticisms of American forces raised by the local newspaper Vecherny Bishkek will negatively affect bilateral military cooperation between our two countries? Also, will there be any improvement of the navigation system at Manas Airport? The aviators there think that it is extremely important to upgrade and modernize the navigation system.

Representative Hobson: The short answer to your first question is no. I am certain that it makes us cautious to ensure that we have a good dialog on these types of issues. I understand it to be correct that the criticism was not based in fact, but it also reminds us that we need to work with local authorities, people, and the media so that they understand what our people are doing.

To answer your second question, there are fees being paid for the use of certain parts of Manas Airport and those fees can be used to upgrade the navigational systems at the airport. We very much appreciate the use of the airport and it has been very important to the world in the war against terrorism. If you go out there, you'll see aircraft from France as well as from the United States, and in a few weeks you'll see other countries' aircraft using that field. I think there may be a perception that this is an exclusively American operation. It is not.

Question From Agence France-Presse: With regard to the recent situation in the region, will the United States increase financial and military technical assistance to Kyrgyzstan?

Representative Hobson: Yes, I believe so. We have provided assistance for a number of years in the form of certain types of training. I would assume we will probably increase that type of assistance to Kyrgyzstan, but only if asked. We've also been spending some money procuring services from the local economy, which to date we have tended to buy from all over the world. We buy a lot of sand and gravel, lodgings, hotels, interpreters, bus drivers, cell phones, fuel -- we have had substantial fuel purchases -- computers, vehicle parts, furniture, portable toilets, building supplies, and many other things, all of which we've been buying and will continue to buy locally. This type of activity gets into the local society as some of our personnel come in to the community from the various countries, buying a number of things locally, and that should have a positive effect on the local economy.

Representative Olver: I just wanted to add that not many Americans know very much about the Central Asian republics, Kyrgyzstan or any of the others, and that's why it's particularly important that we make these kinds of trips so that we can learn about the needs and aspirations of the people we talk to and how our mutual interests can be worked in.

Representative Hobson: Thank you all very much.