A12 The World

by Walter Pincus

Kyrgyzstan’s interim govern- ment has begun a criminal in- vestigation of local companies — allegedly controlled by the son of ousted president Kurmanbek Ba- kiyev — that were sources of fuel supplied to a key U.S. air base in the Central Asian country. “A criminal case has been launched against Maksim Baki- yev,” Ulan Diykanbayev, a spokes- man for the prosecutor general’s office, told the Reuters news service. The Kyrgyz companies, which

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KLMNO

WEDNESDAY, MAY 5, 2010

Kyrgyzstan probing firms that sold fuel supplied to U.S. air base

allegedly did not pay customs duties on jet fuel from Russia, sold that fuel in turn to London- based Red Star Enterprises and Mina Corp., a Red Star sub- contractor. Both firms had De- fense Department contracts to provide oil products to the Ma- nas air base, a major refueling and transit hub for U.S. and coa- lition troops, as well as to the U.S.-run Bagram air base in Af- ghanistan.

Corruption allegations involv- ing supplies to Manas have re- peatedly surfaced in Kyrgyzstan and the United States. In 2005, the previous Kyrgyz

president, Askar Akayev, was forced out as a result of the Tulip Revolution amid allegations that his son and other family mem- bers were profiting from the fuel sales.

When Kurmanbek Bakiyev took over five years ago, he initi- ated an investigation of those al- legations and asked the FBI for assistance. The Kyrgyz prosecu- tor and the FBI ended their in- quiries without disclosing any findings.

When Bakiyev was forced out early last month by another popular revolution, the allega- tions of corruption again includ-

ed charges that presidential rela- tives had siphoned off money from fuel sales to Manas. Bakiyev has since found refuge in Bela- rus, whose president, Alexander Lukashenko, said Tuesday that he would not return Bakiyev to Kyrgyzstan to face charges even if the interim government in Bishkek sought to extradite him. Mina and Red Star, which have received more than $1.5 billion from the fuel contracts since 2005, have never disclosed their ownership. In the wake of last month’s allegations, Mina re- leased a statement saying it had confirmed to the Kyrgyz and U.S.

governments “that it has never had any ownership affiliations with Kyrgyz government offi- cials, nor has it ever directed any U.S. government funds to Kyrgyz officials.” The latest U.S. contract for fuel

delivery to Manas, which the De- fense Logistics Agency (DLA) signed with Mina in June 2009, was for a year, with two one-year options. Awarded without competitive bidding because of national se- curity concerns, it was estimated to be worth more than $725 mil- lion if the future options were ex- ercised.

On Tuesday, DLA spokeswom-

an Mimi Schirmacher said no de- cision had been made on wheth- er the options would be picked up or the contract re-bid. “Any exercise of the option and/or fol- low-on competition of the Mina Corp. contract will be in accor- dance with federal acquisition regulations,” she said in a state- ment. Last month, the national secu-

rity subcommittee of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform began its own investigation of the fuel sup- ply program in Kyrgyzstan.

pincusw@washpost.com

THE TAKE

In Iran, elite unit expands oil role

As Western companies pull out of sanctions-hit sector, Guard takes lead

by Thomas Erdbrink

LEFTERIS PITARAKIS/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Nicholas Clegg of Britain’s Liberal Democratic Party talks to reporters on a flight from Liverpool to Glasgow. Voters go to the polls Thursday.

Like rest of Labor, Oscar winner faces fight

Glenda Jackson, in

Parliament since 1992, focuses on economy

by Dan Balz

london — Glenda Jackson was resplendent in red, a Labor Party rosette pinned to her long coat, as she waited on a blustery Sunday afternoon for Prime Minister Gordon Brown to arrive at the North London Tavern. Jackson is not just a celebrated

actress, winner of two Academy Awards, but also a member of Parliament. The daughter of a bricklayer was first elected in 1992, a year in which her Labor Party fell just short of winning a majority after many polls had predicted that the Conservatives would be swept from power. Today, the tables have turned.

At 73, Jackson is fighting to hold her seat as the Labor Party under Brown struggles to avoid defeat in Thursday’s general election. Hers is one of many battles un- derway in marginal districts across the country that will deter- mine whether Britain changes governments at the end of the week — and whether that new government can command a ma- jority in the House of Commons. “It’s probably been the most in- teresting campaign that I’ve fought, because the issue really out there is the economy and a great many people have yet to make up their minds,” she said. “But they’re not going to make up their minds as they have in the past — this is my feeling — exclu-

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British Elections 2010

tehran — Taking advantage of the very sanctions directed against it, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps is assuming a lead- ing role in developing the coun- try’s lucrative petroleum sector, Western oil executives and Irani- an analysts say. The Guard’s engineering com- panies, replacing European oil firms that have largely aban- doned Iran, have been rewarded with huge no-bid contracts. Ex- perts warn that U.S. efforts to pre- vent international investment in Iran’s oil industry are giving the Guard more clout. Iran is the sec- ond-largest oil producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. “The Revolutionary Guards are smiling at the idea of new sanc- tions against Iran,” said a Western executive who represents one of the world’s largest oil companies. “Sanctions against the industry or preventing foreign companies from selling gasoline to Iran will mean more money, power and in- fluence for the Guards,” he said. In the past, the Guard’s role in

to the latest census, 40 percent of the residents were born outside Britain. The population is 8 per- cent Muslim and 8 percent Jew- ish. “You can do the mosques on

Friday, the synagogues on Satur- day, church on Sunday,” Fordham said with a laugh. “And I’ve done most of that.” Fordham, who has worked in

local government, said he has knocked on 15,000 doors in the district and is in regular contact by e-mail with former Demo- cratic National Committee chair- man Howard Dean about strat- egy and use of the Internet. Clegg’s performance in the de-

DAN BALZ/THE WASHINGTON POST

Glenda Jackson, 73, is Labor’s candidate in Hampstead and Kilburn, a district in north London. She faces two younger, male candidates.

sively on party affiliation. They’re really looking at, it seems to me, which of the parties . . . are best fitted to take us through to keep this fairly delicate recovery on track.”

Because of the first nationally

televised debates in Britain’s his- tory, most of the attention this past month has been focused on the three party leaders: Labor’s Brown, the Conservative Party’s David Cameron and the Liberal Democrats’ Nicholas Clegg. The debates changed the dynamics of the campaign, giving a substan- tial boost to Clegg and the Liberal Democrats, traditionally the smallest of the three major par- ties, and hurting Brown, the least telegenic of the three men. Jackson didn’t watch the de-

Britain’s May 6 general election has turned out to be the country’s hottest race in decades. For the latest updates and features on the candidates, the issues and voters, go to washingtonpost.com/world.

bates but is well aware of the power of television. She recalled being in a play about Vietnam years ago that featured television as a news source. In the preview performances, the director put closed-circuit TV screens around the theater. “After that first night, he took all the screens out, because he said the audience didn’t once look at the stage,” Jackson re- called. “They were all looking at the television screens. And I get it occasionally. People come up to me on the streets and say, ‘I saw you last night on television,’ and you think, well, I’m here now in flesh and blood. . . . It’s style over substance.” Jackson said one man told her

he had listened to the three de- bates on the radio. His verdict was that Brown was the hands- down winner, though instant polls of TV watchers showed him losing. “I said, ‘Oh, it’s Kennedy- Nixon all over again,’ ” she said, referring to the 1960 U.S. debates in which those who listened to the radio thought Richard M. Nixon had triumphed over John F. Kennedy. “But we’re not elect-

“It’s probably been the most interesting campaign that

I’ve fought.”

— Glenda Jackson

ing a president,” she added. This being a parliamentary

rather than a presidential elec- tion, Brown, Cameron and Clegg will not be on the ballot in Jack- son’s district or anyplace except the districts — or constituencies, as they are known here — that they represent in Parliament. Jackson’s opponents are two younger men, Chris Philp for the Conservatives and Ed Fordham for the Liberal Democrats. Jackson’s north London dis-

trict, Hampstead and Kilburn, is a newly drawn, economically and culturally diverse area. According

bates has given the campaign of Liberal Democrat Fordham a boost, nearly doubling the num- ber of volunteers now helping him. More important, he said, the debates have given people a greater sense that they, rather than politicians and journalists, are in control of the election. “That’s phenomenally refresh- ing,” he said. Fordham sees the campaign in

Hampstead and Kilburn as a wide-open, three-way contest. Jackson and Philp, the Conserva- tive candidate, disagree, describ- ing it as a race between the two of them. “You mustn’t believe the fantasies the Liberal Democrats are putting out,” Jackson said. Philp said two things work in his and the Conservatives’ favor. Nationally, “people are desperate for a change in government and a change in direction,” he said. “Lo- cally, there’s a very compelling case. I’ve lived here for 10 years. Glenda Jackson doesn’t even live here.” She lives elsewhere in Lon- don.

Campaigning Tuesday, Brown hinted that he would step down as leader if Labor finishes badly. “I will take full responsibility,” he said in a television interview. Jackson said she has not found voters appearing weary of Brown and Labor and does not believe there will be a hung Parliament, as opinion polls suggest. She re- mains confident that, in the end, voters will give Labor another majority because of their fears about the economy. Reminded that the polls show

otherwise, she smiled and said there were still several days of campaigning ahead. “I told you,” she said. “I mean, the electorate is very canny.”

balzd@washpost.com

Iran’s petrochemical sector was restricted to related infrastruc- ture projects, including building roads and canals. But now Guard- affiliated companies oversee the development of most oil projects, and they have taken the lead in key parts of the gigantic South Pars liquefied natural gas project in the Persian Gulf town of Asa- louyeh, with Chinese companies increasingly acting as subcon- tractors. “It will take them longer, and

they will be less efficient, but the Iranian oil and gas sector will continue to grow despite the international obstacles,” said the oil executive, who has spent years in Tehran. In Washington, a senior U.S. of-

ficial who spoke on the condition of anonymity said it was not un- usual for some government in- siders to figure out how to benefit in countries under international sanctions. But the Iranian gov- ernment is clearly worried about the prospect of new sanctions, he said, noting its intense diplomat- ic efforts to avert them. The Revolutionary Guard Corps, which was established to protect Iran’s Islamic system, is obliged in peacetime to use its ca- pabilities to advance the nation, its commanders say. Under Presi- dent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Guard has vastly increased its business activities. Working through its construc- tion-sector arm, the Guard oper- ates Tehran’s international air- port, builds the nation’s highways and constructs communications systems. It also manages Iran’s weapons-manufacturing busi- ness, including its controversial missile program. Iran’s leaders view the Guard’s

involvement in the oil industry as normal and say the elite military branch is merely helping to devel- op a nation under sanctions. The Guard’s construction arm acts as a commercial company, but it is unclear how its revenue is han- dled. Commanders say the Guard’s income is transferred to the national treasury, but no pub- lic records detail the amounts. Western oil companies still try- ing to work with Iran are faced with tough decisions. Iran recent- ly gave Royal Dutch Shell and Spain’s Repsol a week to finalize a deal allowing them to develop parts of the Pars gas field or pull out of the project. Iran also recently shelved a

$7 billion deal with Turkish Pe- troleum International Co. to de- velop another part of the South Pars field after the Turks failed to

commit. Iran’s Ministry of Petro- leum is negotiating with a domes- tic consortium made up largely of Guard affiliates, the Aftabnews Web site reported. No other par- ties have bid on contracts to de- velop the field, essentially be- cause no domestic companies are capable of handling the enor- mous project. The Guard, whose Khatam ol- Anbia arm is the biggest con- struction contractor in the coun- try, publicly boasts of its growing experience in huge oil projects. “Today, the Revolutionary Guards are proud to have such knowledge and capability that we can easily replace big foreign companies like Total and Shell in taking over big projects at Asa- louyeh,” senior commander Ya- dollah Javani told the semiofficial Iranian Labor News Agency last weekend. Western analysts say that on major projects, however, the Guard typically subcontracts the most complex work to foreign companies, most of them now from China.

erdbrinkt@washpost.com

Special correspondent Kay Armin Serjoie in Tehran and staff writer Mary Beth Sheridan in Washington contributed to this report.

Ahmadinejad warns against U.N. sanctions

by Colum Lynch

new york — Iranian President

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that any prospects of nor- malizing ties between Washing- ton and Tehran will vanish if the United States succeeds in secur- ing U.N. sanctions against Iran. The Iranian leader also accused

Secretary of State Hillary Rod- ham Clinton of shouting “insults” at his country before the U.N. General Assembly and said the United States was abusing its power in a fruitless effort to deny Iran its legal right to develop a nu- clear energy program. Speaking at a news conference

at the Millennium Hotel, across the street from the United Na- tions, Ahmadinejad denied that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons and blamed the United States for launching the nuclear arms race. “The first resolution passed against Iran in the U.N. Security Council will mean that relations between Iran and the United States will never be improved,” Ahmadinejad said. “Paths to that will be shut.”

Ahmadinejad, who was in New

York to attend a U.N. conference on nuclear nonproliferation, sought to counter criticism of Iran’s nuclear activity by U.N. Sec- retary General Ban Ki-moon and Clinton. In his opening remarks to the

General Assembly on Monday, Ban scolded Iran for failing to comply with U.N. obligations. “The onus is on Iran to clarify the doubts and concerns about its program,” Ban said.

Ahmadinejad said Ban would

not have spoken with so little re- spect if Tehran were a world pow- er like the United States. Still, he said, he was prepared to seek a diplomatic solution to the nuclear standoff. He said he would hold talks in Tehran later this month with the leaders of Brazil and Tur- key on a plan — first proposed in October — aimed at ensuring for- eign control over its uranium. U.S. and European officials

have voiced skepticism about Teh- ran’s latest offer. “We have seen no indication that Iran is willing to accept the [International Atomic Energy Agency’s] October propos- al,” Clinton said Monday.

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