The media is hugely responsible for the information we receive.
Prior to the reporting of the uprisings in eastern Uzbekistan, few people would have heard of the country, let alone have any clue of its historical background. True, Uzbekistan is remote, tucked away in Central Asia, far from any coastline, and it's a relatively young independent state.
Now, due to media coverage, the profile of the nation has risen considerably.
Zoom out.
Other regions around the world embroiled in some sort of conflict, however, continue to go unnoticed. Have the media not latched on, or is it not news-worthy enough? Lots of examples in recent months reveal why generating some kind of event might prove helpful, and why not.
Hostage taking of schoolchildren in Beslan, South Ossetia. Where is South Ossetia? Or perhaps... where is its neighbour, the Republic of Georgia? Who recently changed its national flag, from a deep crimson-brown to one with St George Crosses on it.
Huge media coverage then. Nothing now. Has the situation in the breakaway state changed?
The West has been cautious in its approach towards Central Asia - yet Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are ruled by dictators, who have developed some sort of cult-personality behind them. You would only have to turn to the Turkmen leader for an example: he renamed a month of the year after himself, and made every Turkmen read his book. What's the difference between these leaders that have human rights abuse issues and Bush's Axis of Evil? Do they not fall into the same category?
As the crisis in Uzbekistan continues to develop, we can only find out snippets of information, for the local media is heavily suppressed. What happens next may be indicative of some sort of coloured revolution, seen in Georgia and Ukraine recently, or it may not. Perhaps the rules applicable to the Western ex-Soviet Republics do not necessarily fit with the Eastern Republics, which have struggled economically since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
I hold some kind of fixation over the Soviet Union and the former Eastern Bloc history, since reading about it from lovely library books, which were pictorial in nature - designed from youths. It's been at least 10 years since i read about them - and while things may have moved on in some states (like joining the EU), the path is still tortuous for some.
Prior to the reporting of the uprisings in eastern Uzbekistan, few people would have heard of the country, let alone have any clue of its historical background. True, Uzbekistan is remote, tucked away in Central Asia, far from any coastline, and it's a relatively young independent state.
Now, due to media coverage, the profile of the nation has risen considerably.
Zoom out.
Other regions around the world embroiled in some sort of conflict, however, continue to go unnoticed. Have the media not latched on, or is it not news-worthy enough? Lots of examples in recent months reveal why generating some kind of event might prove helpful, and why not.
Hostage taking of schoolchildren in Beslan, South Ossetia. Where is South Ossetia? Or perhaps... where is its neighbour, the Republic of Georgia? Who recently changed its national flag, from a deep crimson-brown to one with St George Crosses on it.
Huge media coverage then. Nothing now. Has the situation in the breakaway state changed?
The West has been cautious in its approach towards Central Asia - yet Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan are ruled by dictators, who have developed some sort of cult-personality behind them. You would only have to turn to the Turkmen leader for an example: he renamed a month of the year after himself, and made every Turkmen read his book. What's the difference between these leaders that have human rights abuse issues and Bush's Axis of Evil? Do they not fall into the same category?
As the crisis in Uzbekistan continues to develop, we can only find out snippets of information, for the local media is heavily suppressed. What happens next may be indicative of some sort of coloured revolution, seen in Georgia and Ukraine recently, or it may not. Perhaps the rules applicable to the Western ex-Soviet Republics do not necessarily fit with the Eastern Republics, which have struggled economically since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
I hold some kind of fixation over the Soviet Union and the former Eastern Bloc history, since reading about it from lovely library books, which were pictorial in nature - designed from youths. It's been at least 10 years since i read about them - and while things may have moved on in some states (like joining the EU), the path is still tortuous for some.
posted by Monty Elm at 3:30 am
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