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Catherina

(35,568 posts)
Fri May 31, 2013, 08:43 PM May 2013

Uribe ordering Santos around? Missing the target!

Uribe ordering Santos around? Missing the target!
By: Nestor France

(First paragraph states that under normal circumstances there would be little to say about Capriles meeting with Santos, the problem is the time and the circumstance because Capriles isn't just a simple opposition candidate, he's on a belligerent tour and refuses to recognize the legitimate government and legitimate institutions of Venezuela), in addition to being under investigation for the post election homicides.

(Second paragraph, we only have Capriles' Ladino-style misleading interpretation of what was said at the meeting. He says they talked about Venezuela's democratic limitations, about audits, the breach of UNASUR agreements, lack of institutional balance, bilateral relations etc... but nowhere do we have Santos' reactions, agreement, much less approval of Capriles' babbling. It's only Capriles giving the impression that Santos agreed with anything he said.)

(Third paragraph, Maduro's reaction was necessary, given the time and circumstance, but it shouldn't go beyond that. It would be a mistake to drown in a glass of water and give up Venezuela's role in the Colombia peace talks, which would delight Venezuela's historical enemy {Uribe} who tried to poison the peace talks)

...

The two keys to Santos' meeting with Capriles need to be placed in the context of the recent Summit of the Pacific Alliance, an alliance promoted by imperialism, which convened all the right wing leaders of the continent in response to ALBA, and the visit the Yankee vice president, Joe Biden, made a few days ago to Colombia.

...

Promoting the Pacific Alliance and its clear orientation economic and political competition with Mercosur is one of the most important political movements of imperialism in recent years, in order to torpedo the progress of Latin American integration and foster division among our countries. It is in the latter lies the crux of the issue-Santos meeting Capriles.

Next paragraph says that the other key is the recent visit of the VP Joe Biden to Colombia. ... Biden said he's an old friend of Colombia and knows Latin America well and that the days are gone when the US message to Colombia was 'What can we do for you?' and today the message is 'What can we do with you?' Since the Santos-Capriles meeting appeared out of the blue, totally unannounced, it looks like a concession from Santos to a request from Biden, another imperialist ploy to divide and conquer. On this, I have to agree because three weeks ago, the Venezuelan opposition, led by Bandaid Machado, tried to meet with Santos and he refused to meet with them)

...

Promoting the Pacific Alliance and its clear economic orientation of political competition with Mercosur is one of the most important political movements of imperialism in recent years, in order to torpedo the progress of Latin American integration and foster division among our countries. It is in the latter lies the crux of the issue-Santos meeting Capriles.

Next paragraph says people need to understand that the principal contradiction of the current historical period is between imperialism, on the one hand, and oppressed countries and peoples on the other and that Chavez understood this so well it's why he tried to maintain good relations with Uribe, mediated between Lobo and Zelaya, promoted peace talks in Colombia etc... His great passion was the integration of Latin America, the Bolivarian dream.

...

With the Santos-Capriles meeting, imperialism mounted a high caliber divisive provocation. In order to give priority to the main strategic objective of the time history, we must avoid taking the bait. It would be very unfortunate if a character as transient in political history of the continent, Henrique Capriles, be the imperial instrument to achieve the objective of disrupting, definitely, Colombian-Venezuelan relations. In this regard we must measure every step, lest we destroy with feet which Chavez built with hands.

http://www.aporrea.org/venezuelaexterior/a167027.html
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Uribe ordering Santos around? Missing the target! (Original Post) Catherina May 2013 OP
Lol naaman fletcher May 2013 #1
I know, right? Laughable beyond belief. joshcryer Jun 2013 #4
Real food for thought. I also remember Santos' distancing from La Schnozzola Machados. Judi Lynn May 2013 #2
I didn't know that about Uribe and President Carter Catherina May 2013 #3
 

naaman fletcher

(7,362 posts)
1. Lol
Fri May 31, 2013, 08:50 PM
May 2013

Even a rough perusal of this forum over the last two years shows that Uribe doesn't order to santos to do anything.

Judi Lynn

(160,217 posts)
2. Real food for thought. I also remember Santos' distancing from La Schnozzola Machados.
Fri May 31, 2013, 09:15 PM
May 2013

I remember when Uribe was doing one of his Presidential terms, he was working like crazy to get the US Congress to O.K. the FTAA with Colombia, which the Democrats were avoiding due to his administration's grotesque human rights record.

At one time he had 7 P.R. firms in the U.S. working for him on this problem, one of them with the same Mark Penn who was employed by Hillary Clinton for her Presidential campaign.

Uribe got the brain explosion inspiring him to travel to Plains, Georgia, to pitch the FTA to former President Jimmy Carter. He visited him, and came away to immediately make a public announcement that Jimmy Carter was completely behind the proposed agreement 100%.

That provoked Jimmy Carter to IMMEDIATELY call a press conference to tell the world he in no way supported this FTA and he wanted it known he didn't.

So we have seen this kind of pattern utilized already by sleazy politicians. Just because they said it doesn't really mean it happened. It might be proof it DIDN'T happen!

Catherina

(35,568 posts)
3. I didn't know that about Uribe and President Carter
Fri May 31, 2013, 09:53 PM
May 2013

and I'd like to find out more because Uribe is one of the sleaziest politicians walking around.

Nevermind. I just found a 2008 thread by Peace Patriot called Jimmy Carter did NOT endorse Colombia 'free' trade deal! It's a LIE!

"Colombian President Uribe Misleads Press About Carter's Intentions - Jimmy Carter NOT In Favor of FTA"

Posted August 27, 2008

"Though it has received scant press here, the Colombian media recently and enthusiastically reported that Jimmy Carter, after allegedly "resolving his anxieties" about the labor situation in Colombia, would champion Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's bid for the Colombian Free Trade Agreement (FTA) - an agreement which Democrats have forcefully opposed and which Barack Obama himself is against. This news followed Carter's recent sit-down visit with President Uribe in Georgia and was based on President Uribe's representations thereafter that Carter would assist him in urging Congressional Democrats to pass the FTA.

"Surprised by this information, I contacted the Carter Center and received the following reply by e-mail:

"'PC (President Carter) has not yet adopted a public position. Uribe met with him during his recent visit to Atlanta. The media made its own interpretation. The Carter Center information office issued a clarification but it has not (had) the same impact.'

"Indeed, it was not the fault of the media for getting this information wrong. Rather, it was the fault of President Uribe who misled the press on this issue, just as his administration attempted to mislead the U.S. Congress in the spring of 2007 in another failed attempt to obtain passage of the FTA. At that time, a delegation of the Colombian government falsely claimed to Congress that the former director of the DAS (the Colombia's FBI) was innocent of the charge of passing a list of unionists to the paramilitaries to kill. In fact, as Gerardo Reyes of the Miami Herald later reported, Colombia's own office of the Fiscalia (Prosecutor) had concluded months prior to this false claim that the DAS director had in fact passed this hit list to the paramilitaries.

"It would be quite surprising indeed if President Carter, who is known as the "human rights president" and who has certainly committed his post-presidential years to the promotion of human rights, would in fact align himself with such unworthy causes as President Uribe and the Colombia FTA. In fact, this would mark a dramatic reversal from the Carter Center's position on this issue up till now.

"As one spokesman for the Americas Program of the Carter Center, Associate Director Marcelo Varela-Erasheva, explained at a panel discussion which he and I jointly chaired at Emory Law School this past February, the FTA will only aggravate the horrendous humanitarian crisis in that country."

(MORE)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-kovalik/colombian-president-uribe_b_121871.html


and this thread from 2009:
Mr. Uribe Comes to Washington, Monday, June 29th

So it's going to happen. Colombian President Uribe will make his first visit to the Obama White House next Monday to discuss the future of Plan Colombia and the stalled U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with President Obama. While the two leaders met at the Summit of the Americas in April, this could be the moment when President Obama makes clear his positions on Colombia. It's up to us to use this opportunity to make sure that he sets the right course from the get-go by making human rights a priority in U.S. policy towards Colombia.

We need you to email President Obama today to pressure him to take a strong public stand in support of human rights and victims of violence in Colombia--and to live up to his promise that violence against trade unionists will be a central issue while considering the FTA.

This visit happens as the spokesperson for a special United Nations' mission just announced that although the recent killings of civilians by soldiers in Soacha "were undeniably blatant and obscene, my investigations show they were only the tip of the iceberg." The visit also happens as the Uribe Administration has been tarnished by revelations that the presidential intelligence agency illegally wiretapped the phones of hundreds of human rights activists, journalists, and Supreme Court judges. And it happens after a year in which more than 380,000 people fled their homes because of violence.

In its first months, the Obama Administration has worked with the leaders of many nations in an effort to restore the United States' image and credibility around the world. Although we have many concerns about President Uribe and the effect of his policies on human rights, we know that President Obama will meet with Colombia's president no matter how much noise we make. But we have to get it across to our president that sometimes being a good friend to our neighbor means asking tough questions and telling difficult truths. We need him to let President Uribe know that he expects Colombia to play by the rules on human rights.

Once President Obama is "on the record" on Colombia, it will be difficult--but not impossible--to get him and his administration to pursue a different path. That's why we need you to join us today. Click here

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/625/t/8560/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=1145&tag=LAWGalert2

to send your email straight to President Obama's inbox!


Gawd.


Blood, Gold and Coke: The Price of Free Trade in Colombia
Friday, 28 September 2012 00:00 By David Bacon, Truthout | News Analysis

The Colombia Free Trade Agreement opens Colombia to foreign corporations and investment, creating an improved environment for the exploitation of natural resources and labor. Union leaders, activists, farmers, indigenous and Afro-Colombian peoples are paying the price - in blood.

Colombia's key business-friendly policy has been the negotiation of a free trade agreement with the United States, begun by Santos' predecessor, Alvaro Uribe. In May, US President Barack Obama gave Colombia a clean bill of health, and allowed the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement to go into effect. Opening Colombia to foreign corporations and investment, however, has had a bloody price, paid by its union leaders, farmers and social movement activists. Uribe and Santos promised the treaty signaled an end to the killings, but attacks on movement leaders continue, nonetheless.


SUAREZ, COLOMBIA - The Colombian military maintains an armed fort, called a "trincheras," in the middle of Suarez, near the damn on the Rio Salvajina. When the river was damned in 1984, thousands of families were displaced, and the army was accused of assassinating local activists in order to force them to leave. Since then, the area has had a permanent military presence.

...

US miners lost jobs when Drummond Coal began supplying the generating stations of Alabama Power with Colombian coal. Now Colombian farmers and workers are suffering the same displacing fate as US exports flood Colombia. In addition to opening the Colombian market, the agreement also facilitates investment in large mines and other megaprojects, leading to the uprooting of rural communities, and the privatization of public services.

...

"Once the free trade agreement was signed, the government wasn't afraid anymore that a vote in the US Congress might go against them," Mendoza says. "We've denounced the paramilitaries and the killings for years, and charged (former Colombian President) Uribe with illegal connections to them. And the Colombian government has tried to use false accusations against us before too. But if they can put us in jail this time, it will be a death sentence. We'll never come out alive."

...

When Colombian courts wouldn't act to identify and punish the murderers of trade unionists, SINALTRAINAL went into US courts in Florida in 2000 with the United Steel Workers and the International Labor Rights Fund, charging Coca-Cola with responsibility under the Alien Tort Claims Act. The USW charged that Coke bottlers "contracted with, or otherwise directed paramilitary security forces that utilize extreme violence and murdered, tortured, unlawfully detained or otherwise silenced trade union leaders." The company's functionaries have compared union protest with guerrilla activity, according to the Observatory.

...

http://truth-out.org/news/item/11817-blood-gold-and-coke-the-price-of-free-trade-in-columbia
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