Update: The summit ended with the presidents of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Nicaragua shaking hands after being encouraged by Dominican president Leonel Fernandez. They agreed to peacefully resolve their differences including Colombian president Alvaro Uribe promising to drop its threat of taking Hugo Chavez to the International Court of Justice. Also, Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega vowed to resume diplomatic relations with Colombia.Afterwards, the Rio group passed a declaration reflecting today's summit. The declaration mentions that no state has the right to engage in the domestic affairs of another state and also recognizes that no state can invade another.
The diplomatic crisis in South America over the Colombian army’s incursion into Ecuador was front and center during the summit of the Rio group. Tensions were high throughout today's session as the presidents of Colombia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua launched accusations against each other over last week’s military operation which ended in the death of sixteen FARC troops including commander Raul Reyes. Some of the charges included:
- Colombian president Alvaro Uribe blamed Ecuador’s government for receiving campaign funds from the FARC and for being uncooperative in the “fight against terrorism."
- Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa condemned Colombia's “aggression” and claimed that any communications with the FARC were in order to free hostages.
- Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega criticized “state terrorism” like “the one committed by Colombia against Ecuador” and brought up the debate with Colombia over the sovereignty of the San Andres Islands.
The leaders of other nations emphasized the need for a peaceful solution to the crisis; Mexican president Felipe Calderon called for “dialogue and understanding” throughout the region while Salvadoran President Tony Saca said that Colombia has “legitimate right to go after terrorists”.
The sole light-hearted occasion during the morning portion of the summit was when Argentine president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner joked that “women are sometimes accused of being hysterical. Here we are better behaved.”
Sources (English) – Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Latin Americanist, AFP, BBC News, Wikipedia
Sources (Spanish) – Milenio, Clarin
Image- Al Jazeera (“The summit in the Dominican Republic ended with Uribe, left, shaking hands with Chavez, right”)
1 comment:
Erwin, it seems to me that Leonel Fernandez and his FM Morales had a very active role at this summit and in the early stages of the talks between Uribe and Correa. Has any news outlet outside the DR picked up the DR gov't diplomacy angle on this?
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