Betty Carrillo: Terrorism Comes from the United States

Assemblywoman Betty Carrillo, from the PAIS [Proud and Sovereign Fatherland] Alliance movement, received the controversial president from Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on his arrival to Ecuador. She justified the visit of the head of state by highlighting that: “We are a sovereign country” and that the Iranian government “has a position that is clearly anti-imperialist, which is within the politics and ideology of the PAIS Alliance movement.”

In an interview with Ecuavisa, the legislator criticized the fact that Iran is accused of terrorism. “Terrorism has come mainly from the United States, a kind of terrorism that Latin America has always had continuously. Let’s remember how [the U.S.] has intervened in other countries in the name of religion and in the name of seeking liberty for the populace.”

And she defended Iran’s friendliness with Ecuador and other countries of the region. With this, Ahmadinejad announced the creation of a common front to defend the indispensable rights of countries that are threatened by powers that want to impose control with violence and wars.

To experts on international law, the announcement is ambiguous. Mauricio Gandara, the former minister of government, indicated that the declarations of president Ahmadinejad only express the distress of his government, which finds itself looking for support from its socialist allies in view of the sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council because of its nuclear program.

He added that with the announcement the Iranian president wanted to show the world that he has the support of countries that make up the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas, directed by Hugo Chavez, with the exception of Bolivia.

“The creation of a common front is only something spoken, just an appearance, because Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and Ecuador are countries that can’t go and support Iran on the occasion of a registered armed conflict,” the former diplomat explained.

He considered it irresponsible for the Ecuadorian government to have given president Ahmadinejad the chance to express his intentions against the world’s powers.

“This act of defiance endangers Ecuador and even exposes us to sanctions in the case that an armed conflict occurs. Why defy the great powers for something that doesn’t affect the national interest?” said Gandara.

Marcelo Fernandez de Cordoba, the ex-vice chancellor, considers the announcement of the creation of a common front to represent only ambiguous declarations that can lead to different interpretations, because it is not indicated that such said alliance is implied.

“It was only a declaration within propagandist rhetoric that ultimately won’t get Ecuador anywhere, let alone get it to confront the United States,” said the ex-vice chancellor.

Visit Notes

Return

Yesterday at 2:00 pm, the Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his entourage returned to Tehran from the Simon Bolivar aerial base in Guayaquil.

Tour

Ahmadinejad returns to his country after a tour of five days which started in Caracas and during which the presidents of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez; Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega; Cuba, Raul Castro, and Ecuador, Rafael Correa, defended Iran’s right to develop a nuclear program for civil use and peaceful purposes.