Central Asia is turning east—but still needs to shed its Soviet frailties

South Korea provides many useful lessons, but unlike the central asian Stans she did not have natural resources, and had no choice but to develop industry and trade within her Confucian social incubator. Indonesia presents a more relevant juxtaposition, except that Suharto enjoyed a symbiosis with ethnic Chinese trading clans and America's cold war security interests.

The Stans have none of these. Instead, they have low grade agriculture, plentiful natural resources, a tradition of strong men, and a dearth of social infrastructure. For these reasons, the Stans will probably resemble Africa more than any part of East Asia for decades to come.

Only the Kyrgyz seem capable of demanding better. Let us hope that they get it.

Sir,

In my opinion, the people of Kyrgyzstan deserve a great deal of respect for overthrowing Mr Bakiyev. These people are brave people who chose to stand up to power. They risked their lives to get rid of a man who was corrupt, exploited the country, and abused the people.

Most people in the world succumb to power. These people have not, and they are a good example of what ordinary people working together can accomplish.

What does "Kyrgyzstan’s turmoil" have to do with NGOs?