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Regional sabre-rattling
Colombia’s decision earlier this year to allow an American presence at seven military bases within its borders, and to increase the number (to a maximum of 700) of its troops there, has raised the hackles of Hugo Chavez and his leftist allies within the South American grouping of UNASUR. An urgent meeting of the Foreign and Defence Ministers of the body to specifically discuss the issue with President Lula of Brazil was convened earlier this week to head off an escalation of the verbal catapults.
Unfortunately, the meeting did little to bridge the sharp disagreement over the issue and ended without any agreement on the use of the bases. Colombia refused to allow the other countries to show the content of the pact and maintained that the country’s State Council would have to look at the document before it is sent to UNASUR.
Alluding possibly to Venezuela’s latest billion-dollar arms agreement with Russia, Colombia demanded other countries to show the content of military deals they had with parties outside UNASUR. The end accord of the summit simply reiterated that the U.S.-Colombian plan cannot compromise the sovereignty of neighbouring countries and that breaching this could seriously harm security and mutual confidence in the region.
The discussion was conducted within the framework of heading off an possible arms race that is conceded by all, would divert much needed resources away from the efforts to attack the entrenched endemic poverty that characterises much of the region. Guyana quietly became a member of UNASUR last year and the move by President Jagdeo was widely lauded as a concrete step in finally moving to realise our continental destiny. Comprised of all the members in South America (with the exception of dependencies such as French Guiana) UNASUR is modelled on the European Union.
One of the key initiatives of UNASUR is the “Initiative for the Integration of the Regional Infrastructure of South America (IIRSA)” that is intended to link all countries of the grouping through the construction of highways, bridges and ports. The Takutu Bridge is a small project within a massive ongoing construction drive that includes a corridor between Peru and Brazil through the Andes. There is also the South American Bank that is to be initially funded with US $7billion to assist in the development initiatives of UNASUR’s membership. All these can only redound to the benefit of our nation.
As such we cannot allow the energy of UNASUR to be diverted through an arms race fuelled by the paranoia of overambitious leaders. Venezuela has long been engaged in shopping around for arms and other materiel and has forged very strong linkages with Russia. Since 2005, Venezuela has spent US$6.6 billion on deals to acquire 24 Sukhoi fighter jets, 50 combat helicopters, 100,000 AK-47 assault rifles and, most recently, 300 surface-to-air missiles and 92 tanks.
Venezuela cannot assert that its latest shopping spree was precipitated by the Colombian acceptance of increased US assistance in its war against drugs. These are matters that ought to be of very grave concern to our leadership, if for no other reason that the fact Venezuela has laid claims to more than two-thirds of our national territory.
Colombia is acknowledged as being the epicentre of the world’s cocaine trade – a circumstance that has removed huge swathes of its territory from its control and placed it into the hands of drug lords.
The US heightened presence is a continuation of a long, ongoing effort to assist the Colombian state to assert its sovereignty over its national territory. Guyana, a transshipment point for Colombian cocaine, would benefit immeasurably if the trade could be crippled. President Lula, who has maintained that the Colombian initiative is a matter of their sovereign right, has also suggested that a meeting be convened between UNASUR and the US, to clear the air. We believe that this is an eminently sensible idea that we should support.
President Obama has recently denied that the US is about to dramatically increase its troops in Colombia: this is positive, but would be better received if it is presented to UNASUR around a table.
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