Western fears grow over new security group
WORLD BRIEFINGS
By Katie Stuhldreher
THE
WASHINGTON TIMES
July 10, 2006
Members of the U.S. Congress and European leaders fear that an economic and
security group led by Russia and China will emerge as an anti-democratic rival
to the West, but analysts warn against confrontation.
The two central players in this debate are the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), a 56-member group
that grew out of the Cold War, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO),
a six-member group that is a product of the post-Soviet reality. China and
Russia are the driving forces behind the SCO, which has four former Soviet
states from Central Asia as the other members.
The
four countries -- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan -- also are
members of the OSCE. Kazakhstan is aiming for the chairmanship of the European
security group in 2009.
The SCO, which held a summit
in China last month, invited Iran and India as observers, and offered Tehran
full membership, raising suspicions in the West that the group was trying to
expand its influence and grow as a counterweight to Western institutions such as
the OSCE. Iran, part of what President Bush has called an axis of evil, is in a
standoff with the West over its nuclear program. India increasingly is becoming
a close ally of the United States and recently signed a landmark nuclear
cooperation agreement with Washington.
Speaking at a
Capitol Hill meeting in late June, OSCE Chairman Karel De Gucht said he has
concerns about the SCO, which was formed in 2001.
"In our organization, all states adhere to common
principles, which is the cornerstone of our vision of stability," said Mr. De
Gucht, who also is the Belgian foreign minister.
"[The SCO is] developing a philosophy on stability,
but ... the role of common principles -- democratic principles, that's what
we're talking about -- to put it mildly, is not that big," he said.
Sen. Sam Brownback, Kansas Republican and chairman
of the Helsinki Commission, described the SCO as "a collection of largely
authoritarian and anti-democratic regimes with little tolerance for human
rights."
Although Mr. De Gucht said this wording was
too harsh, he added, "I think there is a serious fear that in the minds of some
participants, they see it as a competitive organization to the OSCE. I think
it's true."
SCO member countries deny any
anti-Western agenda.
A senior adviser in the Russian
Embassy who asked that his name be withheld, said that he was disturbed by these
comments and that Mr. Brownback's view was "totally the wrong picture."
"We are transparent and compete with no one. Do you
see any threat here? Why all this talk about threats?" he said.
In Beijing, a Chinese government press statement quoted President Hu Jintao
as saying the SCO "has always been an open organization that is not exclusive
and targets no third party."
Kyrgyz Embassy official
Kainar Toktomushev said: "I do not see why our relations with the West should be
damaged because we are a member of the SCO. The SCO respects democratic
principles, and we want expanded ties with Western countries, especially
America."
Lionel Beehner, a researcher at the
Council on Foreign Relations, said touting Iran as a potential member may be
responsible for the growing concern in Congress about SCO.
"It was a great [public relations] move. There's no
way Iran will ever join. But I think it drew a lot of attention and got them in
the headlines. And people started to think, 'What kind of a group is this that
Iran wants to join?' " Mr. Beehner said.
Frederick
Starr, chairman of the Johns Hopkins University's Central Asia-Caucasus
Institute, said U.S. concern also might stem from fear of Russian influence
within the group.
"[Russian President Vladimir]
Putin has really been the champion of confrontation [with the West]," said Mr.
Starr, referring to recent sparring between U.S. and Russian officials over
energy policy. At the SCO summit, Mr. Putin proposed the creation of an "energy
club" within the SCO.
The Russian Embassy senior
official said, "This energy idea is no threat. It is quite natural for these
states to work together."
Roman Vassilenko, press
secretary at the Kazakh Embassy in Washington, said Kazakhstan's position as a
member of both the OSCE and the SCO proved that any Western fears were
unfounded.
"We are a committed member of both
groups, and we don't see them as being mutually exclusive," he said.
Mr. Vassilenko said Kazakhstan's bid for the OSCE
chairmanship, which will be decided in December, could be a key for the West to
find a bridge to the SCO.
"If Kazakhstan gets the
chairmanship, it would be a great way for the West to increase its clout in our
part of the world. The OSCE has never placed the chair east of Vienna," he said.
Mr. Vassilenko also said SCO members from Central
Asia would welcome OSCE election observers and would not see their presence as
meddling. Elections in many former Soviet states of Central Asia often are seen
as less than fair by Western monitors.
"We have seen
much improvement from one election to another because they give us advice on how
to make things work better," Mr. Vassilenko said.
Mr. De Gucht suggested patience and flexibility in
dealing with former Soviet republics and noted that transitioning from communist
economic and political systems would take time.
Mr.
Brownback, however, proposed a tougher approach: "Liberty is a gift for all of
us to participate in, not just for those in Western countries or with certain
ideologies. We have never given up on that concept. That's why it's important to
pressure groups like the SCO to endorse that concept."
In terms of how the West -- specifically the OSCE --
should approach the SCO, analysts suggested avoiding confrontation.
"These countries will act in their own interests. If
the U.S. or the OSCE were to decide to take on the SCO, that would be just what
it needs to get going. It would strengthen it," said Paul Wolf, a lawyer and
researcher who travels extensively in Central and Eastern Asia.
He said there was little reason to fear the group:
"They aren't doing anything. They're having meetings."
In regard to endorsing democratic principles, Mr.
Starr said, "Russia and China don't do that at home, so what makes anyone think
they'd do it anywhere else?"
Mr. Beehner agreed that
a confrontational approach would lead only to alienation, as SCO member states
have reasons to distrust the West.
"These leaders
are afraid of what they see as Washington-based efforts at regime change," he
said.
Mr. Starr and Mr. Vassilenko suggested a
different approach to assuage Western fears of the SCO.
"What the West needs to do is support some of the
healthy alternatives to the SCO in the region. The SCO should not be allowed to
become a monopoly organization," Mr. Starr said.
