American Military Bases In Colombia Mark The UNASUR Summit
Published in El Clarin
(Argentina) on 10 August 2009
by (link to original)
The presidents of the South American block meet today in Quito. The issue of tension is the American military presence in the region, rejected completely by Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and resisted by Argentina and Brazil as well.
The presidents of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) meet today in Quito without knowing how they will reach an agreement about what will surely be the main issue: the American military presence in Colombia. The group is divided between those that reject it and those that limit themselves to considering it an internal issue.
The host of the summit, President Rafael Correa, who today assumes his second term in Ecuador, will receive Chilean Michelle Bachelet, the provisional president of the block. The conspicuous absentee will be Colombian Alvaro Uribe. Diplomatic relations between Quito and Bogota remain broken since March of 2008.
While the first South American presidents were arriving, the chancellors yesterday were fine-tuning the Declaration of Quito that the leaders will sign and discuss along with other issues, such as the world crisis and the situation in Honduras.
In acts and deliberations, in the convent of San Augustine in the historic district of Quito, advances will be seen, such as agreements about the influenza A virus, for example. But they will speak in particular about the agreement that Colombia negotiated with the United States to permit the use of military bases for the struggle against drugs and terrorism.
“It a very worrisome issue for our countries,” pointed out Ecuadorian Emilio Izquierdo, representative of the group. Although “it might not be considered in the declaration” that is being prepared, the situation will be addressed, he added.
Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela are the countries rejecting the establishment and operation of the seven American military bases in Colombia.
“It is an imminent factor for regional destabilization,” the Ecuadorian chancellor, Fander Falconi, said yesterday. The presence of American troops in the region counteracts the idea of constructing a zone of peace and common interest, he added.
For his part, the Ecuadorian minister of defense, Javier Ponce, pointed out that the group will ask for a full explanation from Colombia.
The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, denounced the agreement as “a threat” for his country and for the region. This weekend he declared that “the Yankee empire wants a war between Colombia and Venezuela.” Yesterday, on his program Hello President, he announced: “I will go (to Quito) and tell the truth and invite the governors of Latin America to raise their voices, each one in his own style, but we cannot remain silent faced with this threat.”
The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, subsequently said that he will present a proposal in Quito to reject this military agreement.
Despite shades of difference in culture and language, the governments of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay (whose president, Tabare Vazquez, will not attend today’s summit) joined together as critics, while Peru widely backed Colombia and the United States.
The Brazilian president, Lula da Silva, went further, wanting firm guarantees from Uribe, both political and legal, that the American presence will not affect other countries. Argentinian Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said to Uribe on Thursday in Buenos Aires that the installation of American bases in Colombia is “inconvenient.”
Chile and Paraguay limit themselves to considering the American military presence an internal issue.
This way the discussion of this issue at the summit of UNASUR doesn’t rely on viewpoints to reach a consensus, taking into account that the block obligated itself since its foundation to adopt decisions and rebellions by consent. Therefore, the issue of American military in Colombia shall be kept for the Council of South American Defense, which will deliberate at the end of August in Quito.
Additionally, the agenda for today’s meeting includes the creation of four new councils: social development, education, infrastructure and counter-narcotics, which will be added to those of health, defense and energy.
The final declaration will include references to the international crisis and to “achievements” and “challenges” facing UNASUR, Ecuadorian diplomats put forward. The test will express “absolute rejection” of coup d’état, in reference to the situation in Honduras, whose constitutional president, Manuel Zelaya, will be in Quito today. At the end of June, the block already condemned the coup.
The presidents of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) meet today in Quito without knowing how they will reach an agreement about what will surely be the main issue: the American military presence in Colombia. The group is divided between those that reject it and those that limit themselves to considering it an internal issue.
The host of the summit, President Rafael Correa, who today assumes his second term in Ecuador, will receive Chilean Michelle Bachelet, the provisional president of the block. The conspicuous absentee will be Colombian Alvaro Uribe. Diplomatic relations between Quito and Bogota remain broken since March of 2008.
While the first South American presidents were arriving, the chancellors yesterday were fine-tuning the Declaration of Quito that the leaders will sign and discuss along with other issues, such as the world crisis and the situation in Honduras.
In acts and deliberations, in the convent of San Augustine in the historic district of Quito, advances will be seen, such as agreements about the influenza A virus, for example. But they will speak in particular about the agreement that Colombia negotiated with the United States to permit the use of military bases for the struggle against drugs and terrorism.
“It a very worrisome issue for our countries,” pointed out Ecuadorian Emilio Izquierdo, representative of the group. Although “it might not be considered in the declaration” that is being prepared, the situation will be addressed, he added.
Ecuador, Bolivia and Venezuela are the countries rejecting the establishment and operation of the seven American military bases in Colombia.
“It is an imminent factor for regional destabilization,” the Ecuadorian chancellor, Fander Falconi, said yesterday. The presence of American troops in the region counteracts the idea of constructing a zone of peace and common interest, he added.
For his part, the Ecuadorian minister of defense, Javier Ponce, pointed out that the group will ask for a full explanation from Colombia.
The Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, denounced the agreement as “a threat” for his country and for the region. This weekend he declared that “the Yankee empire wants a war between Colombia and Venezuela.” Yesterday, on his program Hello President, he announced: “I will go (to Quito) and tell the truth and invite the governors of Latin America to raise their voices, each one in his own style, but we cannot remain silent faced with this threat.”
The Bolivian president, Evo Morales, subsequently said that he will present a proposal in Quito to reject this military agreement.
Despite shades of difference in culture and language, the governments of Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay (whose president, Tabare Vazquez, will not attend today’s summit) joined together as critics, while Peru widely backed Colombia and the United States.
The Brazilian president, Lula da Silva, went further, wanting firm guarantees from Uribe, both political and legal, that the American presence will not affect other countries. Argentinian Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said to Uribe on Thursday in Buenos Aires that the installation of American bases in Colombia is “inconvenient.”
Chile and Paraguay limit themselves to considering the American military presence an internal issue.
This way the discussion of this issue at the summit of UNASUR doesn’t rely on viewpoints to reach a consensus, taking into account that the block obligated itself since its foundation to adopt decisions and rebellions by consent. Therefore, the issue of American military in Colombia shall be kept for the Council of South American Defense, which will deliberate at the end of August in Quito.
Additionally, the agenda for today’s meeting includes the creation of four new councils: social development, education, infrastructure and counter-narcotics, which will be added to those of health, defense and energy.
The final declaration will include references to the international crisis and to “achievements” and “challenges” facing UNASUR, Ecuadorian diplomats put forward. The test will express “absolute rejection” of coup d’état, in reference to the situation in Honduras, whose constitutional president, Manuel Zelaya, will be in Quito today. At the end of June, the block already condemned the coup.
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