Colombian
rebels storm ranch, kill 34 peasants
Gunmen from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
killed 34 peasants and injured five others Tuesday at a ranch in one of
Colombia's biggest cocaine-producing areas, Colombian authorities said.
The attack happened at the ranch near La Gabarra, close to the
Venezuelan border and 500 km northeast of Bogota, the capital. A group
of gunmen broke into the ranch at dawn when the peasants were sleeping
in hammocks. The armed men tied the peasants with ropes, shooting them
with automatic weapons, local officials said.
Authorities said the injured people had been sent to a nearby town
hospital. It was the worst killing in Colombia in at least a year.
Some poor Colombian peasants pick coca leaf and sell it to both leftist
rebels and right-wing paramilitaries, making them targets of fighting
between military groups.
Coca leaf is the raw material for cocaine, which is the fuel of a
four-decade-old civil war, in which leftist rebels, right-wing
paramilitary forces and government troops fight one another.
It is estimated that some 3,500 people are killed every year in the war.
Argentine judge summons Menem to testify in corruption probe
An Argentine judge on Tuesday summoned former Argentine
president Carlos Menem to testify here on Aug. 11 in a case of irregular
land sale.
Federal Judge Sergio Torres announced the decision as part of an ongoing
probe into the accusation that Menem abused his authority in a land deal
with a labor union. The case also involves former prime minister Jorge
Rodriguez and former economy minister Roque Fernandez.
Menem, who ruled Argentina from 1989 to 1999, has been living since late
2003 in Chile's capital Santiago with his Chilean wife, Cecilia Bolocco,
and their son Maximo Saul, born last November.
Until now, Chile has twice rejected requests from Argentine judges to
extradite Menem.
The 73-year-old former Argentine president has repeatedly said that his
trials are part of a political persecution which he blames on the
current government of President Nestor Kirchner.
Bolivians
burn mayor accused of corruption to death
Bolivian demonstrators on Tuesday burned to death a mayor they accused
of corruption, said reports from Bolivia's capital La Paz.
Residents kidnapped Benjamin Altamirano on Monday night in Ayo-Ayo, a
town 70 km south from La Paz, and dragged him through the streets and
dumped in the town square, where he was tied up, set a flame and hung
upside down from a lamppost, according to the witnesses.
In neighboring Peru, a mayor of a southeast city close to Ayo-Ayo town
was also lynched by protesters last month.
Bolivia is recently engulfed in an increasingly serious social
turbulence.
Brazilian
president defends national foreign policy
Brazilian President LuizInacio Lula da Silva defended his
country's foreign policy at the 11th meeting of the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development here on Tuesday.
During the talks with representatives of the non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) who participated in parallel events, Lula said that
the power politics had a leading role in the international arena when he
took office,
To change that situation, the Brazilian government understood that it
had to have its position heard in the concert of nations, and the first
step in that sense was to improve relations with its neighbors in South
America.
He explained that by so doing, these nations can speak as a region of
certain weight instead of individual countries.
"It was not easy because Brazil has been seen in the past as an
imperialistic nation in Latin America and our neighbors often doubted
our intentions," the leader said.
Lula also highlighted the importance of using every means and even
relations with other leaders to have a strong presence in the
international community.
He explained that the first steps of his government included the revival
of the Common Market of the South (Mercosur), the bloc that also
comprises Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, and is almost paralyzed by
the Argentine crisis.
Then, they extended to the Andean Community, he added.
He also referred to the contacts with Africa and the establishment of an
accord of joint actions with India and South Africa.
"The aim of all this work is to appear in the international stage not
only simply as someone who requests things, or wishes to sell things,
but also as a trustworthy interlocutor," the leader said.
He added that the measures also included complementing our economies
with the preferential associates. "We do not want to fight the United
States or Europe, which are and we hope will continue to be very
important trade associates of Brazil," he said. He favored stronger
relations with rich countries as long as they are rational, fair and
balanced.
Lula also emphasized the importance of NGOs in mobilizing public
opinion. "It is easy for heads of state to meet and make decisions but
it is difficult to put these decisions into practice, and this is where
the role of the organized civil society begins by putting pressure on
the governments."
He also justified his participation in the Davos' World Economic Forum,
arguing that if he had not been there, the issue of hunger would have
never been tabled in that meeting of great businessmen.
US rejects possible humanitarian accord between Colombian govt and
rebels
US Ambassador to Colombia William Wood on Tuesday voiced
opposition to a possible humanitarian accord between the Colombian
government and the guerrilla Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
on the release of the kidnapped people.
Wood was responding to a reiteration by the FARC that the only way to
release the 60 politicians, militaries and foreign citizens it holds is
to have a humanitarian accord with the Colombian government. The FARC
said under such an agreement, it will release all the hostages in
exchange for the release of 500 imprisoned guerrilla fighters
Speaking at a forum on terrorism, security and democracy held in
Colombia's capital Bogota, Wood said "Thanks to the strong Colombian
answer and the US assistance, the acts of terrorism have drastically
fallen in Colombia."
"We understand the desire of the relatives to preserve their beloved
ones at any cost, but we must not just think of the victims of today but
of the ones of tomorrow," he said.
Wood said in the wake of the possible release of jailed guerrilla
combatants, the FARC would answer with more abductions to seek new
accords.
The FARC is Colombia's largest guerrilla group, with a force of between
17,000 and 20,000 men.
Colombia has suffered a decades-long civil war which pits government
forces, leftist guerrillas and far-right paramilitary against one
another. More than 3,500 people die every year in the conflict.
|
