[NYTr] Uribe disrupts Colombia-Venezuela relations
 
Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2007 21:28:02 -0600 (CST)

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Workers World - Nov 30, 2007 9:33 PM
http://www.workers.org/2007/world/colombia-venezuela-1206

Uribe disrupts Colombia-Venezuela relations

By Berta Joubert-Ceci

Political developments in Colombia and Venezuela, two countries in
South America that share a 1,380-mile border, are strategic to the
regionbs political climate and stability. This puts them also in the
sights of the Bush administration and the Pentagon.

Both countries have vast natural resources. Colombia enjoys the
geopolitical advantage of having both an Atlantic and a Pacific coast.
Venezuela has vast oil reserves. Transnational corporations find this
lure enticing.

The governments of these two countries have opposing ideologies. The
neofascist President Clvaro Uribe VC)lez, the closest ally of Bush in
all Latin America, rules Colombia. Venezuelan President Hugo ChC!B-vez
FrC-as has been promoting a revolution that aims to construct society on
a socialist foundation; to Washingtonbs dismay, several countries in
South and Central America are following ChC!vezbs example.

The U.S. agenda has been to destabilize the Bolivarian Revolution in
Venezuela, mostly through the funding of violent opposition groups that
hide behind the mask of bdemocracyb in Venezuela and by U.S. political
intervention. Meanwhile, Washington props up the Uribe government with
more than $4 billion to date through Plan Colombia. The U.S. intervenes
politically in Colombia mostly through its ambassador in BogotC!,
Colombia Colombia is third in U.S. military aid after the Middle East
and Afghanistan.

The U.S. goal of pitting Colombia and Venezuela against each other had
failed overall until recently. Despite their differences, both
countries had increased trade with each other. Both are each otherbs
second largest trading partners after the U.S. Several weeks ago an oil
and gas pipeline was inaugurated in Colombia, a joint
Colombia-Venezuela project.

Of course the U.S. has attempted to intervene. Colombian paramilitaries
were caught in Caracas several years ago, planning to kill President
ChC!vez. Other incidents in both countries pointed in the direction of a
destabilization move against the Bolivarian Revolution coming from
Colombiabs soil.

And now, Uribebs abrupt and unilateral call to stop the negotiations
for a Humanitarian Exchange (HE) of prisoners in Colombiabs civil war
have brought the good-neighbor relations to a screeching halt. The
negotiations were aimed at exchanging 45 people held by the Colombian
liberation fighters known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
ColombiabPopular Army (FARC-EP) and the 500 FARC members in Colombian
prisons.

Humanitarian Exchange, a hope for peace in Colombia

The growing movement for a humanitarian exchange in Colombia opposes
the U.S./Uribebs plan to brescueb those held by the guerrilla forces
through military intervention. Every such military attack in the past
has led to more deaths of prisoners.

It is likely this growing movement, with ample support both in Colombia
and internationally, prompted Uribe to accept negotiations that could
lead to the exchange. Even the conservative French President Nicolas
Sarkozy applied pressure to start talks, as he had to show interest in
freeing French-Colombian Ingrid Betancourt, former Colombian
presidential candidate. Also, the parents of three U.S. Pentagon
contractors demanded talks. The FARC-EP holds these people prisoners.

The FARC itself has said it would like the HE to lead to negotiations
with the government for an eventual peace plan.

In mid-August, Uribe surprised observers by selecting Afro-Colombian
senator Piedad CC3rdoba to be the Colombian government representative
for the facilitation of the negotiations for the HE accord. CC3rdoba is
an opposition leader from the Liberal Party, who has been quite vocal
linking Uribebs close government allies to paramilitary forces.

Senator CC3rdoba then invited President ChC!vez to be part of the effort.
ChC!vez, who had volunteered himself for it, gladly accepted. Uribe
approved these steps. To mediate effectively, the facilitators would
have to meet with the FARC secretariat. To take the first step toward
starting these talks, Senator CC3rdoba met with FARC spokesperson RaC:l
Reyes on Sept. 15.

Both ChC!vez and CC3rdoba gave priority to HE negotiations. CC3rdoba went
to Caracas, to Paris and to Washington, where she met with FARC members
SimC3n Trinidad and Sonia, both held in U.S. prisons. Both Trinidad and
Sonia graciously told the senator that they should be removed from the
list of those to be exchanged if their presence on it would interfere
with the HE.

Both ChC!vez and CC3rdoba met with FARC envoys in Caracas and also went
to Europe to meet with Sarkozy. Great advances were reported. Relatives
of the guerillas in prison and of those held by the FARC were grateful
that for the first time a serious attempt was being made to negotiate
and arrange for the freedom of their loved ones. Colombians reported a
tremendous sense of hope permeating the country.

During the Latin American Summit held in Chile at the beginning of
November, ChC!vez pleaded with Uribe to be more flexible. Though Uribe
had approved the negotiations, he was setting strict limits. Uribe
vehemently refused to clear (demilitarize) a space in Colombia so the
negotiations could take place safely without the militarybs
interference, as the FARC had demanded.

In mid-November, Uribe underlined his intransigence, setting a deadline
of Dec. 31 for the negotiations. It was unreasonable to believe that
armed conflict in existence for more than 40 years could suddenly
provide for such a speedy and important action. Even ChC!vez mentioned
many times the difficulties in communicating with the FARC, due to the
intense Colombian army bombing of the jungle where the guerrillas are.

U.S. orders a halt to HE

Two days later, on Nov. 21, in an interesting but tragic turn of
events, U.S. former ambassador to Venezuela, William Brownfield, who
had been accredited as ambassador to Colombia only on Sept. 12,
publicly stated, bWe are two months and 22 days into this process and
we still have no proof of life,b A few hours later, Uribe unilaterally
announced that the negotiations were suspended and both CC3rdoba and
ChC!vez were dismissed.

The excuse used by Uribe was a 30-second phone conversation between
ChC!vez and Colombian Army General Mario Montoya. Uribe claimed that
ChC!vezbs call to Montoya was a breach of protocol. In reality, CC3rdoba
had placed the call as part of many she had made to Montoya in an
effort to mediate.

Imagine the relativesb abrupt loss of hope, and by extension, that of
the people in Colombia who want peace. And the international community
that stands in solidarity with the struggling and courageous Colombian
masses. Even Sarkozy urged Uribe to reconsider.

The relatives of those held by the FARC responded to Uribebs
announcement with harsh criticism. An article in the Nov. 23 Washington
Post reports that, bJo Rosano, mother of Marc Gonsalves, one of the
Americans, blamed Uribe, saying he had undercut the mediation efforts
by ChC!vez and Colombian Sen. Piedad CC3rdoba, a leftist who is close to
ChC!vez.b

bThis is not the first time that hebs sabotaged this, and it wonbt be
the last,b Rosano said from her home in Connecticut. bShame on him is
all I can say. The eyes of the world are on him.b

Colombia-Venezuela relations in crisis

ChC!vez criticized Uribebs decision, stating that this unilateral
pronunciation was not what was agreed to before. He questioned Uribebs
sincerity about reaching peace in Colombia. He also accused imperialist
interference of bringing about this sudden ending.

Uribe answered with his fiercest attack so far against ChC!vez, accused
him of pursuing an bexpansionist projectb for Latin America and saying
that Colombia will bclose its doorsb to it. He also accused ChC!vez of
bnot wanting peace for Colombia but rather that Colombia be a victim of
a FARC terrorist government.b

As of Nov. 27, the Venezuelan government has recalled its ambassador to
Colombia for consultation. ChC!vez has also said that trade with
Colombia might be affected.

And in the wildest turn of events, the Colombian Supreme Court cited
Senator CC3rdoba for btreason to the Homelandb because she met with FARC
representatives in her effort to mediate a HE.

This is happening at a time when the scandal of the paramilitary links
of Uribebs allies in government is at its height in Colombia.

This is also just a few days before a crucial constitutional referendum
in Venezuela on Dec. 2. There is ample mass support for the referendum.
Through the funding of NGObs that fuel the viciousness of the
opposition groups, Washington is intervening, aiding the
much-publicized bstudentsbb demonstrations against the referendum.
These bstudentsb are really the wealthy, business and religious
representatives of the oligarchy and their children.

The mass, magnificent pro-ChC!vez rallies have been ignored by the
corporate media, both in Venezuela and in the imperialist countries.

Articles copyright 1995-2007 Workers World. Verbatim copying and
distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without
royalty provided this notice is preserved.

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Email: ww@workers.org
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