Nicaragua broke off diplomatic relations with Colombia Thursday, amid mounting tension in Latin America sparked by Colombia's cross-border attack on rebels in Ecuador. However, hopes for a diplomatic resolution remain.
"We want to tell you that Nicaragua is in solidarity with the Ecuadoran people and reiterating the right to respect the Hague International Court of Justice's decision, respect a disagreement between Nicaragua and Colombia, and before the reiterated military threats of the Colombian government, we have decided to break diplomatic relations with Colombia," Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said after a brief meeting with visiting Ecuadoran counterpart Rafael Correa.
The Colombian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to Ortega's announcement.
The Nicaraguan move came after the Colombian military attacked a jungle camp of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC),the country's largest rebel group, across the border with Ecuador Saturday. FARC second-in-command Raul Reyes was killed in the raid.
Ecuador cut off diplomatic ties with Colombia after the incident, calling the raid a violation of its territorial sovereignty. It also reinforced military deployment along its border with Colombia.
Venezuela, Colombia's northern neighbor, also condemned the attack and sent troops to its border with Colombia.
NICARAGUA'S MARITIME BOUNDARY DISPUTE WITH COLOMBIA
Nicaragua, which has a long-standing maritime boundary dispute with Colombia, took the issue to the International Court of Justice in The Hague in December 2001.
The court left open the chance that Nicaragua might win the right to some islands in the disputed area and recognition of some of the sea it claims.
Ortega said one indispensable precondition for resuming Nicaragua-Colombia ties would be that Colombia respect the sentence of the International Court and not engage in acts such as that committed against Ecuador.
"We are not breaking relations with the Colombian people. We are breaking relations with the terrorist policy practiced by (Colombian President) Alvaro Uribe's government."
URIBE UNDER PRESSURE, STILL TOUGH
Uribe, who has held tough in the face of the crisis, is now under increasing international pressure to offer an apology. His earlier apology to Ecuador was rejected by Correa as Uribe still held that the Colombian military's entry into Ecuadoran territory was "justified."
Besides Venezuela and Nicaragua, Chile, Argentina and Brazil have already expressed indignation over Colombia's cross-border attack.
The Organization of American States has also criticized Colombia for violating Ecuador's sovereignty, although it failed to issue a formal condemnation of the act.
However, Uribe has shown no signs of changing his stance on the issue.
In a three-hour session with media representatives Wednesday night, released Thursday, he once again defended Colombia's action.
"What does one do when bandits are shooting from the other side and the government does not do anything?" he asked. "It is my job to defend 43 million Colombians."
The Colombian president refused to rule out military incursions into Ecuador or Venezuela in the future, saying he first needs assurance from Correa and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chavez that they are not harboring rebels.
Correa, who traveled to Panama later Thursday, criticized Uribeagain, saying he appeared to have acted on a "deranged and bellicose" belief that any country "can intervene when it believes there are elements that threaten national security."
HOPE FOR DIPLOMATIC RESOLUTION
Despite the mounting tension, a regional war does not seem likely yet, as hopes for a diplomatic resolution remain.
The United Nations and countries such as the United States and Russia have called for a negotiated solution. The Colombian government also said it did not foresee a war.
Meanwhile, analysts said a peaceful solution was necessary for the sake of bilateral trade between Colombia and Ecuador, which reaches 2 billion U.S. dollars each year.
Uribe, Correa and Chavez are expected to attend a Rio Group summit Friday in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic. The summit is expected to search for a "peaceful, negotiated solution" on the issue, said Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca.
Source:Xinhua
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