Colombia // Current

Rising Tensions in Venezuela and Colombia

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8349745.stm Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez... more

AlexBush
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Chavez: Prepare for war

Amid all the news out there this Monday morning (health care bills, awakened Ft. Hood shooters, menacing Gulf hurricanes, over-bonused bankers) this little gem caught my eye.

From the AP: Chavez to troops: Prepare for war with Colombia

"President Hugo Chavez ordered Venezuela's military on Sunday to prepare for a possible armed conflict with Colombia, saying the country's soldiers should be ready if the United States attempts to provoke a war between the South American neighbors. "The best way to avoid war is preparing for it," Chavez told military officers standing at attention during his weekly television and radio program."

Chavez is worried about the influence the US exerts over Colombia, their military cooperation, and argues that the Obama Administration could try to stir up a conflict between the two South American nations (because they're not busy enough?). From the Venezuelan perspective a new military pact between the US and Colombia threatens the region's stability.

"According to Francisco Javier Arias, deputy Foreign Minister of Venezuela, Colombia signed a pact with the U.S. allowing the Americans to freely use Colombian military bases and airports to secure the "continuity of the empire." "President Uribe is putting the region at risk to secure his re-election, dragging an elephant like the United States into a china shop, with the idea of solve problems that this northern country is not interested in," the official told Colombian Caracol Radio.

Chavez ordered 15,000 additional Venezuelan troops to the border. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe plans to appeal to the UN Security Council.

From the News Blog: http://blogs.current.com/news/2009/11/09/chavez-prepare-for-war/

Sources: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hlP2MozD95CjZl6e_B6X-kVCZqCwD9BRHBOG1
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/6780-uribe-uses-venezuela-to-secure-re-election.html
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5A80B020091109
http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/70745

(h/t FP Passport)Amid all the news out there this Monday morning (health care bills, awakened Ft. Hood... more

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Rebel Colombian commander freed after daring raid

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One indigenous person murdered every 72 hours in Colombia

With 1,300 indigenous Colombians having been killed in the last seven years as a result of the ongoing conflict, at the end of May, the country's indigenous leaders announced plans to form a 100,000-strong "national indigenous police force". This is aimed at combating what leaders describe as the "increasing trend towards genocide and extermination."

Colombia's 1.3 million indigenous people are consistently caught in the crossfire between warring parties as the protracted conflict continues to encroach on their territories. In the face of official indifference regarding their situation, they have now decided they need to take proactive measures to protect themselves.

Luis Fernando Arias, leader of the Colombian Indigenous Organization said that the situation equates to "an indigenous person being murdered every 72 hours in Colombia."

Indigenous leaders have assigned blame to all "armed parties" in Colombia which includes the army, paramilitary groups and the FARC and ELN guerrillas.

The impact of violence on Colombia's indigenous people has long been the concern of local and international human rights organizations. These include the United Nations and the Inter American Commission on Human Rights which, over the past decade have produced a number of reports condemning rights abuses against indigenous and afro-descendant populations in the country.

According to Colombia's Office of Human Rights and Displacement (Consultoria para los Derechos Humanos y el Desplazamiento) an estimated 1.3 million indigenous people make u 3.4 percent of the country's 44 million national population, yet represent a disproportional 16 percent of the nearly 3 million people who have been internally displaced by the war.

Colombia's indigenous populations are located mainly in the south-eastern part of the country, as well as in the southern region of the Amazon and in the northern Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. All of these areas now experience high levels of armed conflict and territorial dispossession.

The organization Cumbre Continental Indígena has proposed the demilitarization of indigenous territories as one way of removing indigenous Colombians from the ongoing conflict in their country.With 1,300 indigenous Colombians having been killed in the last seven years as a... more