非自願獨立的中亞五國怎麼樣了
Twenty-five years ago this month, the five Central Asian states were cut off from the Soviet Union and forced to stand on their own. It was a shock to their systems.
正是在25年前的那個12月，五個中亞國家被迫從蘇聯(Soviet Union)脫離出來，不得不獨立自主。對他們的體制來說，這是一場衝擊。
In the turmoil that saw the break-up of the Union and all 15 of the Soviet republics regain their independence, the five Central Asian states of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan were reluctant participants.
在那場導致蘇聯解體、15個加盟共和國全部重新獨立的動盪中，哈薩克斯坦、吉爾吉斯斯坦、烏茲別克斯坦、塔吉克斯坦、土庫曼斯坦這五個中亞國家是身不由己的。
On a freezing night in December 1991, I stood on the tarmac of Ashkhabad airport in Turkmenistan as plane after plane carrying the CA heads of state and their delegations landed. The motley Turkmen band, their fingers frozen, struck up the new national anthems as scowling presidents shook hands with their hosts.
1991年12月的一個寒夜，我站在土庫曼斯坦阿什哈巴德機場的停機坪上，一架架載着中亞各國元首及代表團的飛機相繼着陸。臉色陰沉的各國總統與東道主一一握手，土庫曼方面雜湊的、手指凍得僵硬的樂隊在一旁奏響各國的新國歌。
The big story was in Moscow but although this scene was no less fascinating and historic, i was the only international correspondent monitoring the events here, from the perspective of Central Asia.
當時重頭戲都在莫斯科，然而，儘管此情此景同樣令人感慨和具有歷史意義，我卻是當時唯一在場觀察的國際記者——從中亞的角度來看。
A few days earlier, on December 8 1991, Russia’s president, Boris Yeltsin, had signed a treaty with the those of Belarus and Ukraine formally disbanding the Soviet Union and creating a new Commonwealth of Independent States. Nobody had asked the CA leaders if they wanted to join. They had been abandoned by their overlord, Russia.
1991年12月8日，俄羅斯總統鮑里斯•葉利欽(Boris Yeltsin)與白俄羅斯、烏克蘭兩國總統簽署了一項條約，決定正式解散蘇聯，新成立一個“獨立國家聯合體”(Commonwealth of Independent States)。沒人問過中亞各國領導人是否也想加入。他們已被自己的宗主國俄羅斯拋棄。
That night in Turkmenistan I spoke to the leaders and other officials in the government dachas. They were furious, and depressed. The particular focus of their anger was Russia, whom CA officials accused of racial and ethnic discrimination and dictatorial behaviour. Moscow, however, had seen the CA states, despite their oil, gas and agricultural wealth, as an economic burden and was eager to be free of their dependency.
當晚在土庫曼斯坦位於郊外的政府別墅中，我採訪了幾位領導人及其他官員。他們非常憤怒，神情沮喪。尤其讓他們感到氣憤的是俄羅斯，中亞國家官員指責俄羅斯的種族、民族歧視和獨裁行徑。而莫斯科方面已將擁有豐富石油、天然氣和農業資源的中亞國家視爲經濟負擔，迫切希望擺脫這些國家的依賴。
In previous weeks, As the break-up of the Union had loomed, the CA leaders had turned their Soviet socialist republics into independent republics, abandoned their titles of communist party bosses of their respective states and held hasty elections that were heavily rigged in their favour.
在前一段時間裏，隨着蘇聯瀕臨解體，中亞各國領導人已將各自主政的蘇維埃社會主義共和國轉變爲獨立共和國，放棄了作爲各國共產黨總書記的頭銜，並倉促舉行存在嚴重舞弊、使選情對自己有利的選舉。
But in truth they wanted nothing to do with independence. Their economies, infrastructure, financial aid, exports and media had all been governed by Moscow. Now, after so long under the thumb of Russia, they feared that they would not be able to run independent states and did not have the skills to manage their own affairs.
但實際上，他們一點也不想獨立。這些國家的經濟、基礎設施、財政援助、出口和媒體以前都由莫斯科操控。經過俄羅斯長時期的控制，他們現在擔心的是，自己無法治理獨立的國家，沒有能力管理本國事務。
Once, the ‘’hordes’’ of the Mongol, Kazak and Uzbek tribes and clans had ruled Russia, but now their leaders were begging the country not to desert them. They feared that independence would unleash the genies of democracy and nationalism and demands for freedom among their tightly repressed and controlled populations.
歷史上，蒙古、哈薩克、烏茲別克各族的遊牧部落曾經統治過俄羅斯，但如今他們的領導人卻乞求俄羅斯不要拋棄他們。他們害怕獨立會在本國飽受壓制的民衆間釋放民主、民族主義的幽靈並喚起對自由的要求。
The day after the Turkmenistan gathering the leaders went cap in hand to Moscow and demanded to join the CIS on an equal basis with the other nations. On December 21 in Almaty, then the capital of Kazakhstan, the CIS was formed with 11 out of 15 of the former Soviet republics as members.
土庫曼斯坦峯會後第二天，這些領導人又畢恭畢敬地來到莫斯科，要求在與其他國家平等的基礎上加入獨聯體。12月21日，在哈薩克斯坦當時的首都阿拉木圖，獨聯體正式成立，成員包括前蘇聯15個加盟共和國中的11個。
The CA leaders promised at that time to work together to form an economic union to resolve their myriad problems. ‘’A Central Asian community is the need of the hour,’’ Askar Akayev, then Kyrgyz president told me in 1991. ‘’All the CA states must get together to form a new confederation or our economic development will be stalled,’’ said the Uzbek president, Islam Karimov, who died in September after 27 years in power.
當時，中亞各國領導人承諾共同努力建立一個經濟聯盟，以解決衆多方面的問題。1991年，時任吉爾吉斯斯坦總統阿斯卡爾•阿卡耶夫(Askar Akayev)接受採訪時對我說：“建立中亞共同體是當務之急。”烏茲別克斯坦總統伊斯蘭•卡里莫夫(Islam Karimov)表示：“所有中亞國家必須團結一致，組建一個新聯盟，否則我們的經濟發展將陷入停滯。”掌權27年之久的卡里莫夫於今年9月去世。
Instead, they spent years bickering as their economies plummeted and living standards crashed. Today, many Central Asians remember the “glorious” period of communism when their basic needs were met and their health and educational systems flourished.
實際情況是，多年來他們一直不停地爭吵，同時各國經濟急劇下滑，人民生活水平一落千丈。如今，許多中亞人還懷念那段“光輝的”共產主義歲月，那時，人們的基本需求得到滿足，醫療和教育體制蓬勃發展。
The CA republics’ political systems never developed after 1991 and with the exception of Kyrgyzstan they each remain in the grip of a single party. Their moribund political systems and refusal to change have plunged their populations into despair and led to a mass exodus of people into other states looking for work .
自1991年以來，中亞各共和國的政治制度毫無進步，除了吉爾吉斯斯坦，其他國家仍都處於一黨控制之下。死氣沉沉的政治體制和對變革的抗拒，已經讓這些國家的民衆陷入絕望，大批民衆跑到其他國家尋找工作。
There have been disputes between the republics over borders and the control and flow of water, gas and electricity and political jealousies. And there are new threats on the horizon such as the rise of China on their borders, the dangers posed by Islamist extremists and continuing war in Afghanistan.
圍繞邊界以及水、天然氣和電力資源，各共和國之間一直存在爭端，還有各種政治猜忌。他們還面臨新的威脅，如鄰國中國的崛起、伊斯蘭極端分子帶來的危險以及阿富汗曠日持久的戰爭。
Uzbekistan, the largest and most powerful state under a new leader, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, is only now reaching out to its neighbours to try to resolve some of the bitter rivalries. After 25 years it is clear that the post-Soviet CA economies are not independently sustainable. They need reform, and they need each other.
作爲中亞最大、實力最強的國家，烏茲別克斯坦在新上臺的沙夫卡特•米爾濟約耶夫(Shavkat Mirziyoyev)的領導下，現在纔開始向鄰國伸出橄欖枝，嘗試解決一些存在激烈對抗的問題。經過25年，事實已經很明顯，後蘇聯時代的中亞各經濟體無法獨自實現可持續發展。他們需要改革，也彼此需要。
