Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Santo Domingo (Agenzia Fides) - Yesterday, March 7, by the end of the day at the summit meeting in the Dominican Republic, in an annual gathering of Latin leaders, they declared the crisis over with a handshake: President Rafael Correa (Ecuador), President Alvaro Uribe (Colombia), and President Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), finally reached a settlement to the diplomatic crisis among them. The recent crisis is said to be the most serious that the region has seen in years. The settlement has been successful in deterring an armed conflict that had already resulted in the mobilization of the troops of Ecuador and Venezuela to Colombian borders. The crisis began last Saturday, March 1, when the Colombian Army carried out a military operation on Ecuadorian territory, without notifying Quito. During the operation, the second-in-command of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), Raul Reyes, was killed.
The peace settlement signed in the summit meeting rejects, however does not condemn -as Quito had requested-the Colombian raid on Ecuadorian territory. The document supports the recent OAS resolution that stated that Colombia violated Ecuadorian territory, however it does not condemn the act as strongly as Ecuador had hoped. After commenting the peaceful solution that had been reached, the Venezuelan president declared that he would reestablish diplomatic relations with Colombia, after having removed all his personnel from the embassy, and also mentioned that he would reopen the border, after having partially closed them, due to protests. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has also announced the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with Colombia, after having broken them in support of Ecuador’s protests. Ecuador has stated that it is not ready to reestablish relations immediately with Colombia, although they seem willing to in the near future.
Yesterday, as well, there was a meeting for the Presidents of the 22 Episcopal Conferences of Latin America and the Caribbean in Bogota, convoked by the CELAM (Latin American Episcopal Conference) for preparing the Continental Mission. The participants issued a document entitled, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” In this statement, the Bishops show their concern for “the situation of anxiety and tension, that since the occurrence of recent known events, has been established in the countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Nicaragua, and that has caused the breaking of diplomatic ties, as well as, attitudes of confrontation and enmity among government leaders.” They also recall that “the peace of nations must include respect for territorial sovereignty, not meddling in the affairs of other countries, fidelity to signed settlements, and use of diplomatic means in solving problems that may arise.”
To this end, the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences make an urgent appeal to the heads of state, to “renounce violent actions and wounding verbal expressions that only serve to divide and we advise them to find solutions that favor peace and harmony.” They ask that all lift their prayers to the Lord, asking that, “the plague of enmity and violence may leave our country and that we may be strengthened in our vocation to be a fraternally united Continent.” (RG) (Agenzia Fides 8/3/2008 righe 40, parole 503)
