US/Colombia hands off Venezuela and Ecuador! Act now to stop war in Latin America | Links
 
Date: Fri, 7 Mar 2008 15:34:24 -0600 (CST)


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  US/Colombia hands off Venezuela and Ecuador! Act now to stop war in
  Latin America

March 5, 2008 -- What only a few days ago seemed like a remote prospect 
has suddenly become a real possibility. The Colombian militarys brutal 
massacre of 21 (at last count) guerrillas with the Revolutionary Armed 
Forces of Colombia - Peoples Army (FARC-EP), including Raul Reyes, the 
FARC's chief negotiator and spokesperson, in Ecuador on March 1 marks a 
dramatic leap in the United States' plan to potentially trigger off an 
armed confrontation between Colombia and Venezuela.

These events should be of major concern for all supporters of the 
Venezuelan revolution, and anti-war and peace activists the world over.

On March 1, in violation of all international treaties regarding defence 
of national sovereignty, the Colombian government of President Alvaro 
Uribe bombed Ecuadorian territory to assassinate of Reyes and the other 
FARC guerrillas. The governments of Ecuador and Venezuela responded by 
mobilising troops to their respective borders with Colombia, stating 
their willingness to defend their national sovereignty at all costs. 
Both countries broke diplomatic ties with the Colombian regime and 
announced that they would seek an international condemnation of its action.

The Colombian government has attempted to justify its actions as part of 
the fight against ``terrorism''. But this is just the latest in a string 
of lies the Colombian government made in order to keep face. Its first 
lie was claiming that it never violated Ecuadorian sovereignty. Then the 
lie that its actions were a response to FARC attacks was exposed as 
images emerged of the murdered guerrillas in their pyjamas.

Following these unjustifiable actions and, subsequently, a weak 
``apology'' to Ecuador, the Colombian government has tried to claim the 
existence of documents, obtained from three laptops that 
``miraculously'' survived the bombing, that link Ecuador and Venezuela 
to the ``terrorism'' of the FARC. Both Ecuador and Venezuela have 
denounced the claims as ``absolute lies''.

Full:
http://links.org.au/node/302