by Omar Mendoza
QUITO, Aug. 9 (Xinhua) -- More than one year after
the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) was set up, Colombia's relation
with the regional bloc is still on a bumpy road.
Colombia signed the UNASUR Constitutive Treaty in
Brazil in May 2008, together with Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador,
Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela and Surinam.
But President Alvaro Uribe declined to host the
rotating presidency of the organization. And when the UNASUR Council of Defense
was created last year, Uribe initially refused to join it, but later changed his
mind at the request of many countries.
Analysts say the fact that Colombia is not having a
smooth relationship with UNASUR is mainly because of the country's ideological
conflicts with Venezuela and Ecuador.
Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos said his
country's diplomatic impasses with Venezuela and Ecuador were a reflection of
the "ideological fracture" in Latin America.
Colombia "has a different view on development, free
enterprises, and the freedom of speech" than the one held by Venezuela and
Ecuador which boost "socialism," Santos said.
Colombia, which had diplomatic frictions with
Venezuela and Ecuador over its incursion into the Ecuadorean territory to attack
a camp of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels last year, is
causing further diplomatic tensions with the two countries because of its
negotiations with the United States to allow U.S. access to its military bases.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said last Wednesday
that Uribe "directs a war policy" by planning to lease seven Colombian military
bases to the United States.
Ecuador broke up its diplomatic ties with Colombia in
2008 to protest the Colombian army's cross-border attack on FARC rebels. Since
then, the two countries have had conflicts from time to time.
Chile, current holder of the UNASUR temporary
presidency, and Brazil have proposed to seek the settlement of the problems
during the UNASUR Summit on Monday, where there will be high-level Colombian
officers representing their country.
Uribe recently told Colombia magazine "Ahora" that
his country "is not an aggressor of the international community... Our great
problem is the internal terrorism, that is the reason for our fight."
The Colombian government defended its intention to
lease military bases to the United States, saying the move "is an improved stage
of Plan Colombia," which involves the United States in Colombia's anti-drug
efforts.
However, most of South American countries considered
the proposed U.S.-Colombian military agreement an excuse to increase the U.S.
military presence in the region.
Backgrounder: Key facts about
Unasur
