Mexico optimistic about
Colombian peace process
The
Mexican government said Thursday
the country is very pleased with
the process of peace talks
between the Colombian government
and the rebellious National
Liberation Army.
Mexican Vice Foreign Minister
Miguel Hakim, who is in charge
of Latin America and the
Caribbean affairs, said Mexico
as the intermediator has been
working hard for the end of the
conflicts in Colombia.
The peace process between the
two sides is going on smoothly
now, although the date of their
first meeting is still
undecided.
He pointed out the Mexican
government would be very
cautious on this issue according
to the agreement reached between
the parties to the conflicts in
Colombia. The site and date for
their first meeting should be
decided by the two sides, though
the venue of the talks may not
be in Mexico.
During a meeting with his
Colombian counterpart Alvaro
Uribe in May 2004 when Uribe was
on a visit to Mexico, Mexican
President Vincente Fox said his
country was willing to mediate
for the possible talks between
the Colombian government and the
Colombian National Liberation
Army.
After Colombia accepted his
suggestion, he appointed Andres
Valencia as the ambassador to
mediate for the peace dialogue
between the Colombian government
and the anti-government force.
The Colombian government urged
the National Liberation Army to
end hostility and cease fire
prior to the peace negotiation.
Caribbean island nations to
clear way for regional
integration
Foreign ministers of 15
Caribbean island nations have
unanimously agreed at a meeting
to clear the way for the
region's integration, according
to reports reaching here
Thursday.
The 15th Meeting of Foreign
Ministers of the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM), held
Wednesday in Guyana, focused on
the working of the CARICOM as
well as the bloc's relations
with other international
institutions, said the reports
from Georgetown, capital of
Guyana.
Participants reached consensus
that 2005 would be a decisive
year for the application of the
Common Market and Economy of the
Caribbean, which is to start on
Feb. 19 first in Barbados,
Jamaica, and Trinidad and
Tobago, and then progressively
extend to the remaining 12
countries of the bloc.
Preparations for further
meetings on CARICOM's economic,
trade and foreign affairs were
made on the occasion. A CARICOM
summit, scheduled for Feb. 16
and 17, was also prepared at the
ministerialmeeting.
The Caribbean foreign ministers
discussed the recent natural
disasters in the region and
their impact on the regional
economy at the meeting, which
was presided by Surinam Foreign
Minister Maria Levens.
The meeting also discussed how
to strengthen ties with
countries of other zones and
multilateral institutions, and
coordinate the positions of
CARICOM members on world
affairs.
Created in 1973, the 15-member
CARICOM groups Antigua and
Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados,
Belize, Dominica, Grenada,
Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica,
Montserrat, Saint Kitts and
Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines,
Surinam and Trinidad and Tobago.
Observers in CARICOM are
Anguilla, Caiman Islands,
Mexico, Venezuela, Aruba,
Colombia, Dutch Antilles,
Bermudas, Dominican Republic,
Puerto Rico and Cuba, while the
Virgin Islands is an associate
member.
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Brazilians wish to adopt
orphans from Asian tsunami
Many Brazilian couples have
applied to the Sri Lankan
embassy for adopting
children who lost their
parents in the tsunami that
hit Asia last month, a Sri
Lankan diplomat said here
Thursday.
Sohaku Bastos, Sri Lankan
consul in Rio de Janeiro,
told reporters that most
requests are from this city,
and these applicants have
already donated goods or
money to tsunami victims.
He said that thousands of
Sri Lankan orphans are
housed in governmental
facilities, while the United
Nations International
Children's Emergency Fund is
making a provisional
registry of their
identities.
Five hundred tons of aid
materials donated by
Brazilians are ready to be
shipped to Sri Lanka, Bastos
said.
The consul warned that the
terrible situation of the
one million homeless people
in his country could worsen
in the coming monsoon
season, which is
characterized with strong
winds and torrential rains.
800 Colombian paramilitaries
to be demobilized in January
Eight hundred paramilitaries
of the United Self-Defense
Forces of Colombia (AUC)
will lay down their arms on
January 14-18 in Colombia's
northwest province of
Cordoba.
Legal adviser of the AUC,
Carlos Lucio, told local
radio station Caracol on
Thursday that the
paramilitaries to be
demobilized belong to the
North Bloc of the AUC and
will be demobilized in Santa
Fe de Ralito, in Cordoba.
The government of President
Alvaro Uribe has reached an
agreement with AUC leaders
to dismantle the far-right
paramilitary organization by
December this year at the
latest.
About 2,000 men of the AUC's
Catatumbo, Calima,
Cundinamarca, Bananero, Sur
del Magdalena and Isla de
San Fernando blocs have
handed over their arms over
the past three weeks.
Under an agreement between
the government and the AUC,
at least3,000 paramilitaries
had to lay down their arms
by the end of 2004.
The 20,000-strong AUC
originates from vigilante
groups set up by cattle
ranchers and drug
traffickers to combat
left-wing guerrillas.
Colombia has been locked in
a four-decade civil war, the
longest in Latin America, in
which government forces,
leftist guerrillas and
far-right paramilitaries
fight one another. The
conflicts kill more than
3,000 people a year.
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