Colombia Refuses To Join
Regional Defense Council
Colombia will not join a
proposed regional
defense council in South
America due to "the
terrorist threat" it
faces at home, a
presidential spokesman
said here Friday.
Colombia "cannot take
part in the South
American Defense Council
due to the threats of
terrorism," Cesar
Mauricio Velazquez, a
spokesman for Colombian
President Alvaro Uribe,
said during a regional
meeting at which 12
countries signed a
treaty to create the
Union of South American
Nations (Unasur).
In a statement,
Velazquez also said his
country "does not oppose
the creation of a
working group to study
the theme."
Earlier this week, Uribe
announced his refusal to
approve the proposal,
made by Brazil, saying
the Colombian government
is experiencing a
difficult time in its
fight against the
Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia, the
largest rebel group in
the country.
Such a regional defense
body would not offer
solutions to Colombia's
problem, he said.
After Colombia's
rejection of the defense
council, the other
11Unasur members --
Argentina, Bolivia,
Brazil, Chile, Ecuador,
Guyana, Paraguay, Peru,
Suriname, Uruguay and
Venezuela -- agreed to
establish a task force
to present a revised
proposal within three
months.
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