Call to lift US Kyrgyz immunity

[Judi Lynn]

Last Updated: Thursday, 7 December 2006, 15:58 GMT

Call to lift US Kyrgyz immunity

US troops in Kyrgyzstan should be stripped of their immunity from prosecution, Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev has said.
A Kyrgyz man was fatally shot by an American soldier at a US airbase near the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

The US military said a lorry driver delivering fuel had been shot at an entry checkpoint to the US base.

The US leased the base after the 11 September attacks in 2001 to support operations in nearby Afghanistan.

US troops at the Manas base are currently shielded from criminal prosecution under an agreement between the two countries.

"It would be appropriate for US military based in Kyrgyzstan to bear responsibility for any illegal acts they carry out in accordance with Kyrgyzstan's laws," President Bakiyev told the American ambassador, Marie Yovanovitch, according to a statement from the president's office.
(snip/...)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/6218158.stm

[madrchsod]

1. oh no ! even kyrgyzstan is mad at the usa!

another country that finally figured out bush is on his way out...

[Nihil]

2. They're safe enough ...

... there's no way Bush could ever pronounce Kyrgyzstan in a
live news conference ...