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Xinhua News Agency December 19, 2009 Colombia-U.S. military agreement provokes tension in Latin America by Alejandra del Palacio and Zhou Jianxin MEXICO CITY: The military cooperation agreement between Colombia and the United States that allowed the latter to expand its military presence in Colombia has provoked tension and controversy in Latin America, making it one of the big regional issues in 2009. U.S.-COLOMBIA MILITARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT On Oct. 30, Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez and U.S. Ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield signed the agreement, despite opposition from Colombia's neighboring countries. According to the agreement, 800 U.S. soldiers and 600 U.S. civilian contractors from the Pentagon or U.S. security organizations could serve at Colombian bases for as long as 10 years. The agreement also included 5 billion U.S. dollars in aid to Colombia. .... Colombia has emphasized this agreement will be an extension of Plan Colombia, which has used U.S. monetary aid on the fight against drug terrorism and thorny guerilla problems, particularly the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The guerilla group has been present in the country for more than 50 years and the Colombian government has not been able to control it. .... [R]eaction from other Latin American countries has been largely negative, despite a tour by Uribe before signing the agreement in an effort to allay their fears. LATIN AMERICAN OPPOSITION AGAINST U.S MILITARY BASES Since the plan emerged in July, tensions have flared in Latin American countries, who fear the bases will threaten their national security and intensify regional instability. Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia said the planned U.S. military deployment was suspiciously large for its stated purpose. Venezuela, bordering Colombia to the north, is the most vehement opponent of the plan. In August, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered the foreign ministry to prepare to sever ties with Bogota. Chavez said the bases were "a threat" to his country and Colombia was conducting "a war policy", adding that the planned agreement "could generate a war in South America". Bolivia, Uruguay, Ecuador, Argentina and Brazil asked the Union of South American Nations (Unasur) to intervene. In August, at an Extraordinary Summit in Bariloche, Argentina, many leaders of the 12 member countries of Unasur - Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and Ecuador - voiced their concerns over the intended military agreement. At the gathering, Chavez said he would "go to war with Colombia if the agreement is signed". Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said the planned agreement was "an issue that concerns all of us, because it can destabilize the region." Bolivian President Evo Morales asked Unasur to strongly condemn the possible deployment of U.S. troops in Colombian bases. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez expressed her concern for what she called "an untold and unacceptable state of belligerence" in the region. Fernandez told Uribe that the main problem with this issue was the lack of trust. "Before we can imagine reaching a consensus, we must build trust." Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva demanded guarantees from Colombia that the activities of the U.S. troops in Colombia would be restricted to the latter's territory. Lula told Uribe U.S. troops had been in Colombia for more than 50 years and if five decades of military presence had not solved the issue of drug trafficking, then the efficiency of this strategy must be questioned. Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez said his country was against the establishment of foreign military bases in any part of Latin America. He said his country shared the need of keeping South America "as a land of peace." .... The Extraordinary Summit ended with a joint call for strengthening South America as "a zone of peace". The Unasur leaders agreed to respect each other's territorial integrity and promised "to establish a mechanism of mutual trust regarding defense and security" in the region. Unasur stressed that "the presence of foreign military forces cannot, with its means and linked resources to goals, threaten the sovereignty and integrity of any South American nation and, in consequence, the peace and security of the region." POST-AGREEMENT SITUATION .... On Dec. 14, the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas (ALBA) strongly condemned the U.S. political and military activities in the region and the military cooperation agreement. The body said that U.S. military bases in Colombia imposed a great threat on the peace, security and stability in Latin America and the Caribbean region. The leaders of ALBA member countries also urged Colombia to reconsider the establishment of military bases. Morales said Latin America would be the "second Vietnam" of the United States if the U.S. government continued its "military aggression" in the region. Morales suggested that a continental referendum be held to show the region's rejection of the Colombia-U.S. agreement. Although the military deal has been signed, controversy over the issue and tensions caused by the agreement remain in the region. =========================== Stop NATO http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stopnato Blog site: http://rickrozoff.wordpress.com/ To subscribe, send an e-mail to: rwroz...@yahoo.com or stopnato-subscr...@yahoogroups.com Daily digest option available. ============================== --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST --^---------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to: arch...@mail-archive.com EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.bNM5nn.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: antinato-unsubscr...@topica.com For Topica's complete suite of email marketing solutions visit: http://www.topica.com/?p=TEXFOOTER --^----------------------------------------------------------------
