Brussels, 10/03/2008 (Agence Europe) - Spanish EPP-ED MEP José Ignacio Salafranca Sánchez-Neyra and Jorge Pizarro Soto, speaker of the Latin American parliament, the joint-chairs of the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly (EUROLAT), issued a joint statement on Friday 7 March 2008 calling on the governments of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela to urgently find a peaceful solution to their problems, explicitly ruling out the use of force or the threat of using force. Noting that human rights and the respect of fundamental freedoms is a cornerstone of the EU's relations with Latin America, they slam the kidnapping and imprisonment of hundreds of people in Colombia, calling for their immediate and unconditional release. They urge the Colombian authorities to facilitate dialogue to help free the hostages of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia).
Tensions between Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela culminated on 1 March 2008 in Colombian troops crossing over into Ecuador without informing the government of Ecuador, raids that led to the death of around 20 combatants, including a high-ranking FARC member. Colombia has equally accused Venezuela of backing the FARC rebels financially.
The tensions between the three Latin American countries were at the heart of debate at the Rio Group summit in Santo Domingo (the Dominican Republic) on Friday 7 March 2008, where the 19 countries and member organisations issued a joint statement to build bridges. The statement strongly condemns the raid by the Colombian military and threats by criminal organisations to national security in the countries in question.
The Rio Group expressed deep concern for the entire region affected by the 1 March incursions, rejecting the violation of Ecuador's territorial integrity and reaffirming the principle whereby a country's territory is inviolable and may be neither occupied militarily nor subject to the use of force by another state, either directly or indirectly for any reason or even temporarily. The statement notes the full apology by President Álvaro Uribe of Colombia to the government and people of Ecuador, and his promise that such an event would never be repeated under any circumstances. The Rio Group reiterated its firm commitment to tackling security threats against any member states arising from the action of irregular armed groups or criminal organisations, particularly those involved with drugs trafficking. Colombia added a note to the statement adding that it saw such criminal organisations as 'terrorist'.
The Rio Group was set up in 1986 as a political forum for Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, CARICOM (the Caribbean Community), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ecuador, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. EU and Rio Group foreign ministers meet once every two years. The most recent meeting was held in Santo Domingo last year (see EUROPE 9412) and the next will be held in Prague, the Czech Republic, in 2009. (M.B.)