 |
LATIN AMERICA |
| |
Colombia, U.S. Sign Basing Deal
BOGOTA – The Colombian and U.S. governments
signed an agreement on Friday giving U.S.
troops access to at least seven military
bases in the Andean nation, officials told
Efe.
The document was signed by Colombian Foreign
Minister Jaime Bermudez and the U.S.
ambassador to Colombia, William Brownfield,
in a closed-door ceremony at the Foreign
Ministry in this capital.
Colombia’s Defense Minister Gabriel Silva
and Interior and Justice Minister Fabio
Valencia were also present for the signing
ceremony, the officials said.
The 10-year agreement, which Bogota says
complements an earlier treaty on military
cooperation that dates back to 1974, was a
priority for the United States after
Ecuador’s leftist government this year
refused to renew Washington’s lease on an
air base used for counter-narcotics
operations.
The Palanquero air force base in central
Colombia will be the main facility and one
of seven to which the U.S. military will
have access, according to details of the
accord released by both governments in past
weeks.
But the document states that the Americans
will be able to use other facilities as
necessary for activities to combat drug
trafficking and “terrorism” in Colombia, the
world’s biggest producer of cocaine.
“For us it’s very positive, for us it’s also
necessary and it benefits the region as
well,” Colombia’s armed forces chief, Gen.
Freddy Padilla de Leon, said outside the
hall where the accord was signed.
Unlike Colombia President Alvaro Uribe’s
government, which, despite the
recommendations of a Colombian high court,
the Council of State, decided that the
document did not need to be debated and
approved by Congress, Brownfield said the
White House is legally required to send the
agreement to the foreign relations
committees of the Senate and House of
Representatives.
The Council of State’s opinion – excerpts of
which were published Friday by El Espectador
newspaper – states that the accord leaves
the country in the role of a “mere
cooperator,” with the United States
determining the activities to be carried
out, and for that reason is “unbalanced for
the country.”
It also criticized the fact that the “form
and limits” of the access to the military
bases are not specified and said the
agreement should clearly state the
“procedures for the entry, overflying and
landing of planes.”
The high court – which made clear that its
40-page report was non-binding – also
recommended that the parts of the agreement
affording immunity from prosecution for the
800 U.S. troops and 600 U.S. civilian
contractors allowed on Colombian soil be
renegotiated.
Finally, it said the agreement should be
reviewed by Congress – which the Uribe
government said Thursday was not necessary
because it does not involve the movement of
foreign troops over national territory for
offensive purposes – and the Constitutional
Court.
The Colombian government insists that at all
times the country’s own soldiers and police
will be responsible for combating drug
traffickers, leftist guerrillas and other
illegal combatants and that the United
States will only provide technical
assistance.
Since the start of negotiations on the
basing deal, other countries in the region –
particularly Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and
even U.S. ally Brazil – have raised concerns
about the potential impact on the
sovereignty and security of Colombia’s
neighbors.
Venezuela’s socialist leader, Hugo Chavez, a
fierce foe of U.S. “imperialism” and the
survivor of a 2002 coup that former
President Jimmy Carter said enjoyed at least
tacit support from Washington, has gone so
far as to say the accord could spark a war
in the region.
And Friday’s signing is sure to add fuel to
the fire started Thursday by Caracas’ claims
to have uncovered a CIA-supported Colombian
espionage effort targeting Venezuela,
Ecuador and Cuba.
But Colombia and the United States say other
countries have nothing to fear and that the
agreement is necessary after Ecuador refused
to renew Washington’s lease on that Andean
nation’s coastal Manta air base. EFE
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
