President
Rafael Correa: After Correa fired his defense minister
amid charges that his own military intelligence service has
been
cooperating with the CIA, Ecuadorians don't know what to
think.
El Comercio, Ecuador
Pondering CIA
Infiltration of Ecuadorian Intelligence
"In Ecuador this is a very
grave situation that cannot be overcome by discretion or evasion. This is about
relations between the Government and the nation's Armed Forces.
The bombing on March 1 of a FARC installation and encampment on our territory has to be
the most complicated and difficult issue so far in economist Rafael Correa's
presidential term. Several angles, both national and foreign, have complicated
the situation. The first is the extreme deterioration of relations between
Ecuador and Colombia, to say nothing of the damage that this intrusion
signifies about recognition of our sovereignty and international guarantees
about the inviolability of our territory. We have presumably arrived at the
final chapter of this incident with Interpol's report on the computers found at
the camp.
PRESIDENT CORREA FIRES DEFENSE
MINISTER;
OTHER OFFICERS RESIGN OVER CIA
CONTACTS
[Editor's Note:
Interpol announced on May 17 that computers recovered in a Colombian operation
against FARC guerillas on Ecuadorian territory, which resulted in the death of FARC commander Raul Reues [see photo box] were not tampered with by the
Colombian government. Colombia has released some of the data found on these PCs
that it says proves Venezuela President Hugo Chavez has been supporting the
guerillas, possibly lending them money and offering them sanctuary. The FARC, shorthand for
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army, is a left-wing guerilla
group that now controls about 40 percent of Colombian territory [see map on
right]. Funded largely through drug-trafficking, the group is the central
target of U.S. sponsored Plan Colombia WATCH].
FARC commander Raul Reyes,
killed in a Colombian raid on Ecuadorian terrirtory.
Computers found in the raid may prove that Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez has been aiding the rebels and therefore aiding terrorists.
Nevertheless, in Ecuador this
is a very grave situation that cannot be overcome by discretion or evasion.
This is about relations between the Government and the nation's Armed Forces,
especially in regard to the case of Ecuadorian military intelligence.
This is an extremely delicate
issue, since it impinges on the basic theme of State security. The national
intelligence services have been accused of being infiltrated by or dependent
upon foreign intelligence services, principally the CIA of the United States.
Furthermore, the nation's intelligence services have been denounced for
concealing strategic information. Meanwhile, the military commanders involved
have requested the chance to present their own documentation.
As a result of all this, the
government had decided to create an agency to oversee the intelligence
services, which will be comprised mainly of people from outside the profession
but with the experience that such a post will demand.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Beyond being merely
lamentable, the situation aggravated issue in a country where three foreign
citizens linked with guerilla warfare are let free without any reaction from
the Attorney General's office and an inexplicable silence from the government.
An Ecuadorian
judge yells 'catch the guerillas!' The attorney general yells 'they
are escaping, they are escaping.' The two
survivors of Colombia's attack on the
FARC camp in Ecuador get on a plane to
Nicaragua.[El Universo,
Ecuador]
[Editor's Note: In mentioning
"three foreign citizens linked with guerilla warfare" who were let
free, the author is referring to the those who survived Colombia's attack on
the FARC camp inside Ecuadorian territory. One of
them, a 26-year-old Mexican student named Lucia Morett,
has requested political asylum inside Ecuador. It has also been reported that
the other two, Colombians Doris Torres, 21, and Martha Pérez,
24, have been flown from Ecuador to Nicargua at Nigaraguan government expense and have been given amnesty
for 'humanitarian' reasons. They are reportedly receiving medical treatment and
assistance - also at Nicaraguan government ].
Given the many
outstanding questions and concerns, prudence advises that the Government
demonstrate that it is making every effort to thoroughly investigate itself.
These questions cannot be answered by allegations of flaws in the Military
Intelligence service of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces.
[LATEST NEWSWIRE PHOTOS: The killing of FARC Commander Raul Reyes].
