[NYTr] Fright Week Concludes in Colombia
 
Date: Sun, 2 Dec 2007 05:22:45 -0600 (CST)

Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

Fright Week Concludes in Colombia

Bogota, Dec 1 (Prensa Latina) Colombians are closing a week full of
fear because of the diplomatic crisis creating tensions in relations
with Venezuela in the wake of verbal confrontations between Presidents
Hugo Chavez and Alvaro Uribe.

The origin of the confrontation, which reached its climax last Sunday,
was the abrupt cancellation on November 21, without a prior
consultation by Bogota, of the mediation led by Chavez and Colombian
Senator Piedad Cordoba, who were looking for a humanitarian exchange of
prisoners with the guerrillas.

As a result, Chavez put relations with Colombia "in the fridge" due to
a lack of confidence in Uribe and his Government, and said that
Colombia deserved a better president.

Uribe also replied in very strong terms, accusing his Venezuelan peer
of "coming to Colombia to interfere and promote an expansionist
project" on the continent.

The rest of the week went by amid a campaign by the mainstream
Colombian media, which seems to be striving to arouse passions, in
contrast with conciliatory calls by numerous politicians and business
people to find a way to mend matters and improve relations.

The media campaign failed to conceal the clamor by broad sectors which
favor a resumption of efforts to achieve a humanitarian accord
between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC), which many considered going in the right direction.

This perception was confirmed on Friday, when evidence that 17 people,
including ex-presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, a senator and
three US intelligence agents, were still alive was provided by FARC, as
promised to the Venezuelan leader.

However, the evidence did not reach Senator Cordoba, much less
Chavez, because it was intercepted by the Government through a military
operation in Bogota, with three alleged members of FARC detained.

This has deepened the conviction of many Colombians that, contrary to
what has been reiterated by the government, the thwarted mediation was
indeed working.

It also generates more questions on the real interest of President
Uribe in achieving the release of people held by the guerrillas, giving
priority to dialogue rather than to armed conflict.

hr rma rc mf PL-4
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