NICARAGUA:
Rupture of Ties with
Colombia Comes as Little
Surprise
By Gloria Helena Rey*
BOGOTA (IPS) -
Nicaragua’s announcement
Thursday that it was
breaking off diplomatic
ties with Colombia over
the recent bombing raid
carried out on a rebel
camp in Ecuadorian
territory met with
concern but not surprise
in the Colombian
capital.
Nicaraguan President
Daniel Ortega accused
Colombia of threatening
stability in Latin
America and engaging in
acts of "international
terrorism."
He was referring to
Saturday’s aerial
bombing of a
Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC)
camp three km inside
Ecuador, and what he
called threatening
posturing by Colombia in
its longstanding sea
border dispute with
Nicaragua, which has
flared up recently.
Analysts in Colombia
said Ortega’s reaction
was unsurprising,
especially after
Nicaragua became the
only member of the
Organisation of American
States (OAS) to vote
Wednesday against a
resolution that stopped
short of condemning
Colombia for its bombing
raid, in which FARC
leader Raúl Reyes, the
group’s international
spokesman, was killed
along with two dozen
other insurgents.
The resolution approved
by 33 of the 34 OAS
member states recognised
that Colombia violated
Ecuador’s national
sovereignty but did not
sanction the government
of Álvaro Uribe, as
called for by Ecuador,
Nicaragua and Venezuela.
"We are not satisfied
with the OAS resolution
and we hope that the
next meeting will
produce at least a clear
condemnation of the
crime committed by the
Colombian government
against the sovereignty
of the Ecuadorian
people," said Ortega.
"In solidarity with the
Ecuadorian people and
vindicating their right
to defend their
sovereignty, and in the
face of repeated
military threats by the
Colombian government,
Nicaragua announces that
it is severing
diplomatic relations
with Colombia," added
the Nicaraguan leader,
shortly after meeting
with Ecuadorian
President Rafael Correa.
Saturday’s military
incursion into Ecuador
also prompted Quito to
break off ties with
Colombia. In addition,
both Ecuador and
Venezuela moved troops
to their borders with
that country.
Correa protested that
the Colombian president
was aware that this
month the FARC planned
to release a group of 12
hostages, including
former presidential
candidate Ingrid
Betancourt, the highest
profile hostage held by
the guerrillas, who is
seriously ill.
A partial closure of
borders has also hurt
trade between the three
countries and forced
Uribe to adopt an
emergency plan to
mitigate the economic
damages caused by the
worst diplomatic crisis
in recent Colombian
history.
Venezuela is Colombia’s
biggest partner in the
region, with trade
between the two
countries amounting to
more than six billion
dollars a year.
Colombian analyst
Vicente Torrijos said
Ortega’s decision "is in
line with his political
trajectory. We must not
forget the close ties
between the Sandinista
(National Liberation
Front) and the FARC."
Ortega, who led the
Sandinistas to victory
in the 1979 revolution
that overthrew the
Somoza dictatorship in
Nicaragua, took part in
a minute of silence in
his country in tribute
to the guerrillas killed
on Saturday, and
expressed his solidarity
with "our brothers in
the FARC" and their
families.
Others believe the main
reason for Ortega’s
decision is Nicaragua’s
row with Colombia over a
maritime border and
several small islets in
the Caribbean Sea, which
is being considered by
the International Court
of Justice in The Hague.
Last month, Nicaragua
accused Colombia of
stepping up military
operations in the area,
which Bogotá denied.
The rupture "is an
excuse for refusing to
recognise any decision
by the Court that is not
in Nicaragua’s favour,"
said Colombian Senator
Manuel Ramiro, a member
of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee.
The situation now forces
Colombia to launch "a
more intense diplomatic
offensive throughout the
region," said analyst
Juan Manuel Charry.
The crisis will not only
make it more complex to
resolve the bilateral
dispute, but also
"places Colombia in a
very difficult situation
in Central America,"
said political scientist
Pedro Medellín.
*With additional
reporting from José Adán
Silva in Managua.
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