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Colombia grants US access to military bases
Bogota (AFP) Oct 30, 2009 Colombia granted the United States access to seven military bases on Friday for counternarcotics operations, signing a deal that has angered leftist South American governments wary of US presence in the region. Colombia's Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez and US Ambassador William Brownfield signed the accord during a brief closed-door ceremony in Bogota, a Colombian foreign ministry spokesman told AFP. The exact text of the agreement, which Washington says is aimed at boosting cooperation in fighting guerrillas and tackling rampant drug trafficking, will be disclosed next week, Bermudez said. "To be clear, this agreement aims to end drug trafficking and terrorism in Colombia.... Our neighbors and the entire region can rest easy," he told RCN radio. Tensions have flared in Latin America since the deal emerged in July, with Venezuelan Hugo Chavez warning that "winds of war" were blowing across the continent. Several countries in the region, notably Venezuela, Ecuador and Bolivia, have claimed the planned US military deployment is suspiciously large for its stated purpose. The 10-year deal allows the US military to use seven bases in strategically located Colombia, which shares a border with Venezuela, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Panama. Some 800 American troops and 600 US civilian contractors will be permitted on Colombian soil and will enjoy diplomatic immunity, which has caused an uproar among the political opposition and non-governmental organizations. But President Alvaro Uribe's conservative government assured there will be "no impunity" for any crimes committed by the US military, insisting the agreement commits Washington to investigate and punish such cases. "The agreement includes such important things as that there will be no US jurisdiction or courts martial in Colombia, or that Colombia may participate in investigations conducted against American officials," said Bermudez. Brownfield said the pact "updates" and "modernizes" agreements already in place between the two countries and signed in 1952, 1962 and 1974. "This agreement is a natural part of our relationship and allows us to continue working together closely to respond to security challenges within Colombia," the US State Department said in a statement. The move comes as relief for Washington's efforts in the region, after it closed its only remaining base in South America in September, in the port city of Manta, Ecuador, from where it had launched aerial surveillance operations targeting cocaine shipments. Washington insists the deal only involves using Colombian bases -- three aerial, two naval and two army bases -- and will not lead to the building of US facilities on South American soil, as some critics of the plans fear. "The United States does not have and does not seek bases inside Colombia," US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in August. She urged more countries to help the United States fight off the scourge of drug trafficking in the region. One of the bases involved, at Palanquero, 180 kilometers (110 miles) west of Bogota, boasts a 3.5-km (two-mile) runway adapted for large cargo planes, which critics say would allow the US to project itself far beyond Colombia's borders. Colombian neighbors Venezuela and Ecuador in particular worry that intelligence and other operations could be carried out on their soil from Colombia, a charge Washington denies. Bogota says the deal will extend cooperation with Washington already enshrined in "Plan Colombia," under which the country has received nearly 5.5 billion dollars in US aid since 2000 to combat drug trafficking and guerrillas. Colombia's Council of State, which holds an advisory role, had argued that given its reach, the text should be submitted to congressional approval, but the government bypassed the recommendation. During a regional summit on August 28, South American presidents attacked the plans, warning "foreign military forces" against threatening national sovereignty. Fears of an arms race in the region were further stoked last month when Caracas purchased Russian military hardware worth four billion dollars. Share This Article With Planet Earth
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EU leaders clear major hurdle to reform treatyBrussels (AFP) Oct 29, 2009 European Union leaders on Thursday cleared a major obstacle holding up the massive Lisbon reform treaty, paving the way for a new-look EU with its first-ever president. At talks in Brussels, the leaders approved a proposal to satisfy a last-minute demand by the deeply eurosceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus for his country to win an opt-out from the EU's charter of fundamental rights. ... read more |
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