Out of Uzbekistan
Politics and Society, Uzbekistan7 Comments
It’s becoming a little lonely for the 300-odd German troops in Termez. Today, the Uzbek foreign ministry has withdrawn overflight rights for some NATO troops. Beginning in January, military planes from Spain, Belgium, Netherlands and Sweden (heck, weren’t they neutral?) won’t be able to enter Uzbek airspace anymore.
I scanned the German media as to what impact this will have on Germany’s contingent of troops in southern Termez and there is only one thing abound: speculation…
According to the German government (via Berliner Zeitung), there are no signs as for yet that this embargo would pertain also to German Bundeswehr machines.
At the moment, there are negotiations being held on two fronts: First, within the NATO headquarters, officials are trying to deliberate whether there are alternatives to Uzbekistan as a supply base for the ISAF force in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Second, the German government is talking to Uzbekistan over the future of Termez. Die Welt reports, however, that a frantic search for a new base has already begun, as the lease period will already expire at the end of this year.
According to the same source, the German defence ministry is currently gathering information whether an airbase in neighbouring Tajikistan can be used as a substitute. Also, as Germany is in charge of security in Afghanistan’s north and thus taking over the Mazar-i-Sharif airbase currently being managed by British troops, Termez would seem even more replaceable. Nevertheless, German soldiers need to get to Afghanistan via a second country in its vicinity, as our old Transall transport machines are not allowed to transport soldiers across Afghan skies (or can’t make it at all…).
Also, Germany’s new chancellor, Angela Merkel, has talked about Uzbekistan during a meeting with NATO general secretary de Hoop Scheffer.
The bottom line is, strangely enough, that Uzbekistan’s treatment of NATO is highly selective and excludes Germany. It seems to me that German troops in Termez aren’t under NATO command and have a merely logistical mission, i.e. to maintain regular supply of operations in neighbouring Afghanistan. Heck, can someone tell me about their status?
As a finishing side note: A friend of mine, who served in Afghanistan, had great memories of Tashkent when he and his mates were sent there for a brief holiday stint. It must have been quite a positive shock seeing a beautiful urban centre like that after having patrolled the ravaged and war-torn streets of Kabul.
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ISAF is originally an UN mission, maybe that’s the key here?
According to the FAZ, the problem is not as much flying over Afghanistan with Transalls as having a base for the Medevac Airbus. Long distances to Afghanistan or high mountains on the way seem to be mayor obstacles as well. Anyway, it’s about time to get the Airbus A400M.
No idea why the categorize Sweden as NATO member either.
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I think that the NATO thing is causing confusion and only came up because of a press fudge. Some of the stories I’ve read recently suggest that Uzbekistan served notice to particular EU members because of their EU membership, not their NATO membership.
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Thanks for your comments. I guess Nathan is right - all the EU members that are banned from Uzbek airspace happen to be NATO members as well.
There is still a great sense of uncertainty in German politics. It is quite a difficult situation for Germany’s new government. I wonder what other EU and NATO allies seem to suggest. ‘Should we stay or should we go’ - difficult question, not only with regards to the ISAF mission. The Germans could be the last EU country with a working relation to Uzbekistan.
The German opposition is confused:
http://www.fdp-fraktion.de/webcom/show_websiteprog.php/_c-649/_lkm-84/i.html?wc_id=5533&bis=
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Given that most smart people seem to have been kicked out of the Uzbek FM, its not inconceivable that they got a bit confused about who’s in NATO/EU. NATO has imposed no actual sanctions as far as I can see - Uzbekistan is still a partnership for peace member, although presumably it won’t get much training this year. As for the Germans, you might think niavely that anybody with a base in a country as unstable as Uzbekistan would have developed a plan B. But the German FM has never been very in tune with Uzbek realities. I would have thought Tajikistan would be happy to help in exchange for a few Euros
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We’ll see whether this will change with the new minister.
It’s quite interesting to see that the deplorable state of German military equipment will leave the Bundeswehr in need of a third-country airbase, preferably in Central Asia.
It’s really about time to get the new Airbus as yan says. It’s a plane that is able to cross the Hindu Kush and will have some self-defense mechanisms onboard. So why even bother having a base in Central Asia…
Kidding aside - I reckon the Uzbeks would really like to have the Germans remain at Termez. It’s a pity I have lost the contact details of a chap I met in Tashkent who was working for the German embassy. He’d probably have some interesting bits to add here.
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