Kyrgyzstan President Roza Otunbayeva given US honour Skip to main content

Kyrgyzstan President Roza Otunbayeva given US honour

Hillary Clinton and Roza Otunbayeva Mrs Clinton praised Mrs Otunbayeva's "tremendous courage"

Kyrgyzstan Turmoil

Kyrgyzstan's President Roza Otunbayeva has been given the prestigious US state department Women of Courage award.
Mrs Otunbayeva, Central Asia's first female leader, came to power last year after a popular uprising in Kyrgyzstan.
The state department said she had played a major role in the country's efforts to shed authoritarian rule.
But her award has also drawn criticism because last year's bloody clashes between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks happened under her stewardship.
More than 400 people were killed and thousands of homes destroyed - most of them belonged to ethnic Uzbeks.
International rights groups have accused the Kyrgyz authorities of turning a blind eye to rising nationalism amongst ethnic Kyrgyz and allowing for the increasing marginalisation of the country's ethnic minorities.
In Washington on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Mrs Otunbayeva's "tremendous courage, leadership, and tenacity", after the US state department made her one of 10 recipients of its annual award.
"In the face of a collapsing government, regional divisions, economic privation, she emerged as a unifier, someone who kept Kyrgyzstan whole after tragedy and upheaval," Mrs Clinton said.
Mrs Clinton said Mrs Otunbayeva's pledge to share power with other elected officials and to hold further elections had offered "an invaluable lesson to fledgling democracies everywhere".
'Protest' Mrs Otunbayeva is the first woman to lead a male-dominated Muslim majority country, says the BBC's Central Asia correspondent Rayhan Demytrie.
She helped turn an authoritarian state into the region's first parliamentary democracy, our correspondent adds.

“Start Quote

It is during her presidency that we have seen bloodshed”
End Quote Mutabar Tadjibayeva Uzbek human rights activist
Last year the country held its first-ever largely free and fair parliamentary elections.
On Monday, US President Barack Obama thanked the Kyrgyz leader for her support for a continued US military presence in Kyrgyzstan.
The Manas transit centre in Bishkek is a major hub for US and Nato troops serving in Afghanistan.
Uzbek human rights activist Mutabar Tadjibayeva - a recipient of the US award two years ago - says she will hand back her prize in protest over Mrs Otunbayeva's award.
In a statement, Ms Tadjibayeva said: "When Mrs Otunbayeva was a leader of the opposition and was speaking out against injustice, I think then it would have been right to award her. But it is during her presidency that we have seen bloodshed."
Mrs Otunbayeva has said that the June violence represented one of the most painful experiences she has had to deal with.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12677394
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Chronology of the Press in Burma

1836 – 1846 * During this period the first English-language newspaper was launched under British-ruled Tenasserim, southern  Burma . The first ethnic Karen-language and Burmese-language newspapers also appear in this period.     March 3, 1836 —The first English-language newspaper,  The Maulmain Chronicle , appears in the city of Moulmein in British-ruled Tenasserim. The paper, first published by a British official named E.A. Blundell, continued up until the 1950s. September 1842 —Tavoy’s  Hsa-tu-gaw  (the  Morning Star ), a monthly publication in the Karen-language of  Sgaw ,  is established by the Baptist mission. It is the first ethnic language newspaper. Circulation reached about three hundred until its publication ceased in 1849. January 1843 —The Baptist mission publishes a monthly newspaper, the Christian  Dhamma  Thadinsa  (the  Religious Herald ), in ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera

The Life Story of A Distinguished And Outstanding Bhikkhu The Most Venerable Saradawpharagree Sri Bhaddanta Chandramani Mahathera The Buddhist missionary Saradaw Ashin U Chandramani was endowed with great gifts and led a famous and long life. He was a very well known, distinguished and outstanding Bhikkhu Mahathera. While living in the Kushinagar Monastery, a place close to where the Lord Buddha had passed away to Nirvana, the Government of India had offered, and he had accepted, the highest, most honourable and respected title "Guru Guru MahaGuru". He became the first ever President of all Buddhists in India.A World Buddhist Conference took place in Kathmandu during the reign of King Mahindra of Nepal. The Conference was very well attended by over one hundred thousand Buddhists from various parts of the world and it was opened by King Mahindra himself. As requested by the King, Saradawpharagree blessed all the participants with the power of Triple Gems...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thai penis whitening trend raises eyebrows

Image copyright LELUXHOSPITAL Image caption Authorities warn the procedure could be quite painful A supposed trend of penis whitening has captivated Thailand in recent days and left it asking if the country's beauty industry is taking things too far. Skin whitening is nothing new in many Asian countries, where darker skin is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer. But even so, when a clip of a clinic's latest intriguing procedure was posted online, it quickly went viral. Thailand's health ministry has since issued a warning over the procedure. The BBC Thai service spoke to one patient who had undergone the treatment, who told them: "I wanted to feel more confident in my swimming briefs". The 30-year-old said his first session of several was two months ago, and he had since seen a definite change in the shade. 'What for?' The original Facebook post from the clinic offering the treatment, which uses lasers to break do...
1 comment
Read more