[Marxism] No war for now! Rio group meeting ends in handshakes and smiles

[Anthony Boynton]

The immediate danger of war between Colombia and its
neighbors has disappeared! Hugo Chavez and Alvaro
Uribe are friends again, shaking hands, smiling and
slapping each other on the back. 

And Ingrid Betancourt, the three US hostages, one
Ecuadoran hostage, and three Colombians are apparently
about to be released by the FARC. Alvaro Uribe has
pledged to never again violate another nation’s
sovereignty again, nor to act unilaterally. Nicaragua
has restored its diplomatic recognition of Colombia.
And everyone present vowed to fight the threat posed
by irregular and criminal groups.

All of this after Uribe had accused Chavez of genocide
and terrorism, Chavez and Correa had called Uribe a
liar, etc. 

Chavez , Correa and Ortega all united to emphasize
that the underlying fundamental problem is the war
within Colombia, and that it must be solved through
negotiations as were the civil wars in Central
America. 

The emergency meeting of the Rio group was broadcast
live all day here, and it was a great show. In
downtown Bogotá every little restaurant and corner
store had the TV tuned into it, and most people were
watching, or listening.

The article below carries most of the highlights, but
none of the flavor. 

More later, Anthony

LatAm leaders agree to end border crisis

By ANDREW O. SELSKY, Associated Press Writer 54
minutes ago

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic - The presidents of
Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela agreed Friday to
resolve their angry recriminations over a cross-border
Colombian commando raid, a crisis that has brought
troop movements and talk of war.
ADVERTISEMENT

The uneasy neighbors joined in a declaration noting
that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe apologized for
the last weekend's attack on a Colombian rebel base in
Ecuadorean territory and that he pledged not to
violate another nation's sovereignty again.

The declaration signed by presidents of the 20-nation
Rio Group also reiterated a commitment to fight
threats to national stability posed by "irregular or
criminal groups."

Their emergency summit was an hours-long passion play,
with finger-jabbing lectures, furious speeches and
pleas for goodwill.

The dramatic high point came when the host, Dominican
President Leonel Fernandez, urged Uribe to shake hands
with his antagonists to show his goodwill. Uribe then
marched around the table and shared stiff handshakes
with Ecuador's Rafael Correa and Venezuela's Hugo
Chavez.

Correa appealed to Uribe to respect their border and
never again act unilaterally to send troops into his
territory to attack a rebel camp. If such an act is
justified, then no border will be safe, Correa said,
drawing perhaps the day's loudest applause.

The showdown underscored Latin America's swerve to the
left in recent years — and the increasing isolation of
Colombia's center-right government, which is
Washington's strongest ally in the region.

Correa, Chavez and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega,
all leftists opposed to U.S. foreign policies, were
the most strident in confronting Uribe. But even
centrist leaders lectured Uribe about the need to
honor territorial sovereignty and the rule of law.

At one point, the atmosphere became so bitter that
Correa walked out of the seaside meeting hall. He
returned to denounce Uribe as a liar.

"Your insolence is doing more damage to the Ecuadorean
people than your murderous bombs," Correa bellowed
into his microphone. "Stop trying to justify the
unjustifiable!"

Uribe said his military was forced to act because
Colombia's neighbors refused to stop offering haven to
the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or
FARC, which finances its anti-government insurgency
through kidnapping and drug trafficking. He said the
rebels, in turn, have done favors for Chavez and
helped Correa get elected.

Uribe held up documents he said were recovered from
the laptop of a key FARC leader killed in the raid,
Raul Reyes. One, he said, showed Reyes telling the
guerrillas' top commander about "aid delivered to
Rafael Correa, as instructed."

Colombia's president said he didn't give Correa
advance warning of the attack on Ecuadorean soil
because "we haven't had the cooperation of the
government of President Correa in the fight against
terrorism."

Correa countered that Ecuador is a victim of
Colombia's conflict, and proposed an international
peacekeeping force to guard the border.

Chavez tried to strike a conciliatory tone, noting
that the crisis "keeps heating up."

After Colombian planes and commandos killed two dozen
people at the rebel camp, Venezuela and Ecuador moved
thousands of soldiers to their borders with Colombia.
Ecuador and Nicaragua also broke diplomatic relations
with Colombia.

Chavez denied Uribe's accusation that he had given
$300 million to the Colombian rebels and said he never
sent them weapons.

"I have never done it and will never do it," Chavez
said. "I could have sent a lot of rifles to the FARC.
I will never do it because I want peace."

Chavez then invited in the mother of French-Colombian
politician Ingrid Betancourt — the highest-profile
hostage held by the FARC — and urged Uribe to allow a
multinational group into Colombia to negotiated a
hostage release.

The Venezuelan government later released videos of
Colombian troops among the hundreds of people believed
held hostage by the FARC, saying it had received
"proofs-of-life" of 10 captive soldiers. Speaking into
the camera, the captives urged the region's leaders to
"please intervene" to support talks on swapping the
rebels' hostages for imprisoned guerrillas.

The U.S. military's Southern Command has declined to
comment on claims by Chavez that the U.S. planned,
directed and participated in the cross-border attack.

Washington has given billions of dollars in military
aid to Colombia and U.S. special forces train
Colombian troops, but U.S. soldiers are barred by U.S.
law from participating in combat operations and can
fire only to defend themselves.

One of the few leaders offering support to Uribe was
Salvadoran President Tony Saca, who said before the
meeting that "Colombia has the legitimate right to go
after terrorists ... wherever they may be, of course
without harming the sovereignty of another country."

Bolivia's leftist president, Evo Morales, accused the
United States of dividing a peaceful Latin America. He
said that over the decades, false labels such as
"communist" and "drug trafficker," and since the Sept.
11 attack, "terrorist," have ruined lives and
justified wars across the region.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon made a similar
point, without criticizing the U.S., saying that such
labels are counterproductive. He advised his fellow
leaders to "leave aside the adjectives" and work to
improve the lives of Latin Americans.



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