COLOMBIA-ECUADOR:
OAS Helps Ease Tension
in Diplomatic Crisis
By Gloria Helena Rey
BOGOTA, (IPS) -
Political and business
circles in Colombia
breathed a sigh of
relief Wednesday after
the Organisation of
American States (OAS)
took a step towards
defusing the serious
diplomatic crisis
between that country and
Ecuador.
The OAS Permanent
Council approved a
resolution that states
that Bogotá violated
Ecuador’s national
sovereignty by attacking
a FARC (Revolutionary
Armed Forces of
Colombia) camp Saturday
in Ecuadorian territory.
However, it did not
condemn the Colombian
government for the
military operation, as
Ecuadorian Foreign
Minister María Isabel
Salvador demanded on
Tuesday.
The resolution reaffirms
"the principle that the
territory of a state is
inviolable and may not
be the object, even
temporarily, of military
occupation or of other
measures of force taken
by another State,
directly or indirectly,
on any grounds
whatsoever."
The OAS also decided to
establish a commission
headed by the
organisation’s Secretary
General José Miguel
Insulza and made up of
four ambassadors
designated by him, to
visit both countries and
propose formulas for
bringing the two nations
closer together. Two of
the ambassadors will be
from Brazil and Panama.
In addition, an
extraordinary regional
meeting of foreign
ministers will be held
on Mar. 17, "to examine
the facts and make the
pertinent
recommendations," as
requested by Ecuador and
accepted by Colombia.
The resolution was
approved by 33 of the 34
OAS member states, which
praised the attitudes
and efforts of the
governments of Colombia
and Ecuador in the
search for a peaceful
solution to the crisis.
Nicaragua, however,
roundly opposed the
resolution, arguing that
it felt threatened by
the Colombian naval
vessels near its
maritime borders.
Managua and Bogotá are
embroiled in a border
dispute that is being
studied by the
International Court of
Justice in The Hague.
The delegation of the
Venezuelan government --
which reacted to
Colombia’s incursion in
Ecuador by moving troops
to its own border with
Colombia -- also
supported the
resolution, but said it
would work with the OAS
commission to provide
the foreign ministers’
meeting with elements
that would substantiate
a more forceful decision
against Bogotá.
The agreement was
reached after hours of
debate and negotiations
that began Tuesday.
In the meantime, the
Venezuelan high command
reported that the
mobilisation of troops
to the border with
Colombia was 85 to 90
percent complete.
According to the
Colombian Foreign
Ministry, the OAS
commission that will
visit the places in
Ecuador and Colombia
suggested by the two
governments will be
carrying out a
fact-finding mission,
rather than an
investigation, as called
for by Quito.
Colombia acknowledged
that it violated
Ecuadorian sovereignty
and apologised once
again for the raid.
Foreign Minister
Salvador said after the
vote on the resolution
that "the OAS overcame a
historic test that
justified its raison
d’etre."
Colombia’s ambassador to
the OAS, Camilo Ospina,
said that "Ecuador and
Colombia are sister
countries that cannot
consider themselves
enemies."
In Bogotá, the speaker
of Congress, Nancy
Patricia Gutiérrez, said
the incident in Ecuador
and the OAS resolution
"are a lesson for
Colombia to begin to
forge closer ties with
its neighbours to
explain to them the
internal situation in
the country and the
day-to-day escalation of
violence to which it is
submitted."
Political and business
leaders in Colombia also
welcomed the OAS
resolution, for helping
to defuse the tension.
"It is great news that
Colombia was not
condemned, because it
was understood
internationally that the
battle being waged here
is against terrorism,"
said Oscar Arboleda,
president of Colombia’s
lower house of Congress.
The grave diplomatic
conflict between Ecuador
and Colombia, in which
Quito broke off
diplomatic ties with
Bogotá, has caused great
tension throughout the
region.
A closure of Venezuela’s
border with Colombia,
which Caracas denied
doing on Wednesday,
would have caused major
economic damages in
Colombia.
Trade between the two
countries amounted to
6.5 billion dollars last
year, with Colombian
exports to Venezuela
totalling 5.2 billion
dollars and Venezuelan
sales to Colombia 1.3
billion dollars.
Ecuador had sought OAS
sanctions against
Colombia for the
military incursion in
its territory, in which
the FARC’s international
spokesman, guerrilla
leader Raúl Reyes, was
killed, along with some
20 other insurgents.
Salvador said the raid
was "a planned and
deliberate attack by air
and land on Ecuadorian
territory."
She also accused
Colombian President
Álvaro Uribe of "lying
to Ecuador and to the
whole world" when it
claimed that the
operation was carried
out in legitimate "self-defence,"
because the guerrillas
were actually sleeping
when the raid occurred.
In Tuesday’s session,
Colombia only received
outright support from
the United States, while
the majority of the
member states criticised
the military attack.
Argentina, Bolivia,
Brazil, the Dominican
Republic, Nicaragua and
Venezuela condemned
Colombia’s action. But
although El Salvador,
Guatemala, Panama, Peru
and Uruguay condemned
the incursion into
Ecuadorian territory,
they said Colombia’s
claims that Ecuador and
Venezuela had provided
support to the FARC
should be investigated. |
