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