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NEWS
INTERNATIONAL PRESS
OAS to discuss
Ecuador-Colombia border dispute
Posted on Mon, Mar. 03, 2008
By PABLO BACHELET
pbachelet@MiamiHerald.com
WASHINGTON -- The Organization of American States will hold an emergency
meeting Tuesday to discuss a Colombian military raid into Ecuador that
killed a top FARC commander and sparked a crisis with Venezuela.
The raid was degenerating into a major diplomatic row on Monday, with
Colombia alleging Venezuela and Ecuador were violating international
agreements not to harbor terrorists.
Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa said Colombia had illegally crossed
its border and would present a resolution condemning the action at an
OAS meeting Tuesday afternoon, diplomats said, setting the stage for a
potentially bitter showdown with the U.S.-backed Colombian government.
South American diplomats are expected to meet ahead of the OAS meeting
in an effort to work out a compromise, said one OAS diplomat, who
declined to be quoted by name given the delicate situation.
OAS head José Miguel Insulza has been consulting with several Latin
American heads of state on the crisis, diplomats said. Leaders from
Brazil, Chile and other Latin American nations are looking for ways to
cool the growing uproar.
The 34-member OAS is the hemisphere's main political conflict-resolving
institution.
A weekend raid by Colombian forces conducted just inside the Ecuadorean
border killed several members of the Colombian left-wing rebel group
known as the FARC, including one of its best-known leaders, Luis Edgar
Devia, also known as Raúl Reyes.
The raid prompted Venezuela's left-wing president, Hugo Chávez, to issue
strongly worded protests and dispatch troops to the country's western
border with Colombia. Ecuador also said it would bolster its military
presence on its northern border with Colombia.
In a statement, the Colombian government said it would not increase its
military presence along its borders and that its intentions were
peaceful.
Speaking on Ecuadorean television, Correa said he had expelled the
Colombian ambassador to Quito and initiated an international campaign
against Bogotá. He said the raid was ``the most serious, deceptive and
verified aggression that President Uribe has committed against
Ecuador.''
Colombia has apologized for the raid and initially it reached out to
Ecuador to explain the raid. But its position appeared to harden Monday
following the harsh reactions of Chávez and Correa.
Colombian officials said a laptop seized from the camp contained
communications between Reyes and Ecuador's security minister, Gustavo
Larrea, suggesting Ecuador had agreed to replace its commanders on the
border with officers more friendly to the FARC.
The Colombian statement said it was ``concerned over the agreements that
may exist between the FARC terrorist group and the governments of
Ecuador and Venezuela, which violate international agreements that
forbid countries to harbor terrorists.''
The information will be made available to the OAS and the United
Nations, the statement added.
The Bush administration urged Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador to settle
their differences before the OAS.
State Department spokeswoman Heide Bronke said Reyes was ''first and
foremost a senior leader in a terrorist organization whose stated goal
was the violent overthrow of the government of Colombia'' and that
Washington would continue to support Colombia's efforts to defeat
terrorist groups.
''We urge restraint and believe that the OAS is an appropriate venue for
the two countries to find a solution,'' she said.
Some countries believe Colombia owes the world an explanation.
''A situation of this nature without a doubt merits an explanation,''
said Chilean President Michelle Bachelet. ``The most important thing
today is that we can avoid an escalation of this conflict.''
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