Posted on 07/16/2008 4:49:21 PM PDT by marron
President Rafael Correa rejected statements by ex-FARC hostage Ingrid Betancourt, who supported the attack by the Colombian Army on a FARC camp in Ecuadorian territory on March 1.
In the letter, the Head of State said he was surprised by comments by Betancourt, who was rescued in an operation authorized by Álvaro Uribe.
“We are surprised and deeply pained by these declarations that support and try to justify an illegitimate and illegal act, which has been recognized as such and rejected by every government in America” , said Correa in the letter sent to Betancourt, released yesterday by Carondelet.
In this letter, Correa referred to recent remarks by Betancourt to BBC, in which she justified the bombardment on March 1. “We are pained -said Correa- that she hasn't appreciated fairly the magnitude of the efforts that Ecuador made toward her liberation and has supported the attack on our homeland and the violation of our sovereignty” . In addition, he recalled that the Colombian government itself had publicly apologized.
“It pains us that you have repeated accusations by the Colombian government with respect to the lack of help from my government”.
On July 2, after being liberated, Betancourt referred to the break in relations between Quito and Bogotá, caused by the March 1 attack. She asked that Correa help, but also respect Álvaro Uribe, in his capacity as president of Colombia.
Ecuador says the letter from Correa to Bentancourt only sought clarification
Bogotá, EFE
Security Minister Gustavo Larrea said today that the letter sent by president Rafael Correa to Ingrid Betancourt to express his annoyance for support she gave to a Colombian military operation on Ecuadorian soil, only sought to clarify her position toward her government.
"It is a letter clarifying what perhaps she didn't know, we wanted to clarify that this was a violation of our sovereignty", said the official in remarks from Ecuador with Colombian radio station La FM.
Larrea said that they still had not received a formal reply from Betancourt, but that they maintain a formal relationship with the ex-presidential candidate.
In any case, he assured that Ecuador would cooperate with an initiative by Betancourt, freed last July 2 along with three US citizens and 11 police and soldiers in a rescue operation by the army, in an effort to free all of the hostages being held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Correa sent a letter to Betancourt to express his surprise and annoyance for support she gave to the colombian military operation on Ecuadorian soil March 1.
In a letter dated last July 10 and released on Tuesday by the president's office, Correa told Betancourt he was "sorprised" and "deeply pained" by her declarations on July 9 to BBC, in which she supported the "attack perpetrated by the Colombian armed forces".
Betancourt, in an interview with the British news network, supported the incursion by Colobian troops into Ecuador, although she recognized that "ideally they ought to have counted on the Correa government. They ought to have advised him".
In the operation by Colombian troops 26 people died, among them the international spokesman for FARC, "Raúl Reyes", alias Luis Edgar Devia, and four Mexican students.
The “illegitimate and illegal act” Correa is speaking of is the March 1 incursion into Ecuador by Colombian forces that killed a bunch of FARC scum. Not the hostage rescue.
Duly noted. The hit on FARC terrorists - protected by Ecuador - that directly lead to eventual rescue of the hostages is “illegitimate and illegal act”. Good enough.
they deserve each other.
Correa disses Betancourt.
Stockholm syndrome?
Not really.
Most of the Left freaked out over Colombia's attack on the FARC base inside Ecuador. Correa, the Ecuadorian president, was basically caught with his hand in the cookie jar, offering direct support to FARC. He's denied it, and has screamed to the high heavens that he is innocent.
But the hard-drives they captured there tell a different story.
Anyway, Betancourt, the Left's darling, has come out backing Uribe and his attack into Ecuador, and criticized the Ecuadorian government. So Correa has now attacked her.
Actually, Betancourt isn't a typical leftist, she made her fame going after corruption and mafia in the government, and was targeted for death a couple of times by government mafia types. But she was also critical of FARC and the guerrillas, she was never pro-FARC. And the fact that she is willing to back Uribe when the entire Left is united in disapproving of his incursion into Ecuador is typical of her.
BBC is trying to find something in her remarks to turn to their purpose, so they've grabbed onto remarks where she said "it would have been nice" if Colombia could have counted on Correa's help, but its clear that even this is an implicit criticism of Correa, not Uribe.
She knows she is a target to be recaptured by FARC, which is why she is staying in France for the time being. Smart girl.
She is usually referred to as a "Green" basically because none of the regular parties would have her. So she started her own party which she called "Oxygen". It is usually thought of as Green but was not formally part of the Greens.
I would bet she is a future president.
And Uribe is going to go down in history as one of Colombia and South America's great presidents. He has pulled a neat trick in that probably most of Betancourt's followers were anti-Uribe, even her family tended to blame him for not doing more to get her out. But in the end it was he, not all of the diplomats in France or the UN or the OAS who finally got her out. This is a bigger blow to Chavez and the anti-Uribe left even that it appears on the surface. The rescue, and Betancourt's remarks supporting Uribe have left Chavez and Correa looking like the clowns they are.
The FARC leader Marulanda is dead along with some of the other senior leadership. Colombian intel infiltrated the senior leadership in order to get her out. I would say that FARC is almost finished. I wonder now if Chavez may soon fall as well. He has been made fool of. A dictator can survive a lot but not being made fool of.
I would say that FARC is almost finished. I wonder now if Chavez may soon fall as well. He has been made fool of. A dictator can survive a lot but not being made fool of.
Maybe some of that sulphur he said he smelled at the UN was coming from himself?Hope you're right.
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