RESOLUTION ON COLOMBIAN INCURSION PASSED BY

UNCLAS QUITO 000221

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL MOPS EC CO
SUBJECT: RESOLUTION ON COLOMBIAN INCURSION PASSED BY
ECUADOR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY

REF: QUITO 219


1. (SBU) With a vote of 116 assembly members present, the
Constituent Assembly unanimously passed a resolution (Reftel)
on March 4 condemning the Colombian incursion on March 1 as
violation of national sovereignty and an act of aggression
that constitutes a threat to all of Latin America in
regionalizing Colombia's internal conflict.


2. (SBU) The Assembly discussion included numerous
accusations by various members that the USG had been involved
in supporting the Colombian operation, including statements
that information had come from the Manta FOL. It was a
positive development that anti-U.S. language that had been
proposed by the more radical elements of the Assembly was
ultimately rejected by the Proud and Sovereign Fatherland
(PAIS) majority.


3. (U) Begin Text of the Resolution:

The plenary of the Constituent Assembly, considering that:

In accordance with article 1 of the regulations on the
functioning of the Constituent Assembly, published on the
supplement of the Official Registry number 236 dated December
20, 2007, the Constituent Assembly represents popular
sovereignty, which resides in the Ecuadorian people,

The Colombian government, through its armed forces, assaulted
Ecuadorian territory in a planned manner, which has generated
rejection from the Ecuadorian people which felt that its
sovereignty was affected,

Colombia's domestic conflict causes unacceptable incursions
of irregular forces from that country into our territory.

In exercise of its prerogatives, agrees to:

Article 1: Strongly condemn the violation of the national
sovereignty and territorial integrity, since this act of
aggression constitutes a threat to all of Latin America to
the extent that it gives impetus to the regionalization of
the Colombian conflict. This act of violence adds to the
social, economic, and environmental costs that the Colombian
conflict represents for Ecuador.

Article 2: Ratify our country's pursuit of peace and declare
that, from any point of view, the violation of our territory
by the Colombian armed forces is inadmissible and
unjustifiable, as well as by any other irregular force on
national territory.

Article 3: Repeat the traditional policy that the State of
Ecuador has maintained, in spite of foreign pressure, of not
getting involved in the internal conflict that our brethren
Colombian people suffer, to which the Ecuadorian people have
always provided and will provide their solidarity.

Article 4: Confirm our willingness to cooperate so that the
Colombian people find a peaceful solution to its problems.

Article 5: Urge the government to adopt the necessary steps
to ensure that the northern border populations can count on
guarantees to exercise their rights to life and security.

Article 6: Call for national unity for the defense of our
sovereignty and of the public good that our country
possesses, which is peace, as well as back up all the actions
that the Ecuadorian government is executing to guarantee
national sovereignty.

Article 7: Appeal to the governments of Latin America and to
the international community to give impetus to the
regionalization of peace and not the regionalization of war
and violence.

Article 8: Delegate to Committee 9 on Sovereignty,
International Relations, and Latin American Integration, the
follow-up of the resolutions adopted by the Constituent
Assembly in this agreement.

End Text of the Resolution.

BROWN