Page B6
2TÍJC IJnrtlanb (Dhseruer
January 30,2002
jpurtlaub
A w a i t i ng Á ti o p i i
Colombian President Requests
o n
Military Help from U.S.
Civil War in Colombia Threatens American Oil Interests
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) —
President Andres Pastrana says
W ashington should widen its in
volvement in Colom bia’s war to
assure a continued flow of oil from
this South American country.
Colombia is the 10th-biggest
supplier of oil to the United States.
But attacks by leftist guerrillas
have squeezed Colombia’s out
put to 600,000 barrels per day.
Pastrana said in a news inter
view that his government will ask
W ashington to have U.S. soldiers
train Colombian troops to protect
oil pipelines, bridges and other
infrastructure from rebel attacks.
Currently, U.S. aid is restricted
mainly to supporting Colombian
anti-narcotics troops.
A vice president for
Occidental Petroleum,
the biggest U.S. oil
company in Colombia
with a 35 percent stake
in the country’s sec
ond-largest oil field,
applauded Pastrana’s
proposal.
Rebel bombings of
the Cano-Limon pipe
line serving the O cci
dental field — which has a capac
ity of pumping some 115,000 bar
rels per day — shut down opera
tions 56 percent of the time last
year.
In all, rebel sabotage o f U.S.
and Colombian oil operations pre
vented the production of more
than 24 million barrels o f crude
last year, according to state oil
company Ecopetrol. The raids also
scare away foreign investors seek
ing to exploit Colom bia’s un
tapped reserves.
With seven months left
in office, Colombian
President Andres
Pastrana has vowed to do
all he can to end the civil
war and put his country
on an “irreversible" path
to peace.
There was no immediate com
m e n t fro m W a sh in g to n on
Pastrana’s proposal. Any broad
ening of the U.S. aid effort could
run into opposition in Congress,
where concerns run high about
Last weekend, negotiators from
the government and the Revolu
tionary Armed Forces of Colom
bia, or FARC, agreed to set cease
fire terms by April 7, narrowly
averting a collapse o f the three-
year-old peace pro
cess.
Pastrana acknow l
edged he may not be
able to bring peace to
Colombia before his
term expires next A u
gust, but said he hoped
it would remain on track
for his successor, who
will be chosen in elec
tions this spring.
He also described
his dream of Colombia’s future: its
oil, coal and other resources at
tracting foreign investors and cre
ating millions of jobs; its varied
and gorgeous landscape beckon
ing tourists.
Pastrana said he only needed
to c o n v in c e th e re b e ls and
paramilitaries that everyone would
benefit if the war ends.
“This is the job we have to do
... to tell the violent ones that
peace is the best business this
country can have,” Pastrana said.
Any broadening o f the U.S.
aid effort could run into
opposition in Congress,
where concerns run high
about getting too deeply
involved in Colombia.
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getting too deeply involved in
Colombia.
U .S . A m b a ssa d o r A nne
Patterson said recently that for
eign investment in Colombia can
only flourish if there is an end to
the 38-year-old war.
With only seven months left in
office, Pastrana said in the inter
view — held in a sitting room in
the presidential palace — that he
wants to be remembered as the
man who set Colombia on an “ir
reversible” path to peace.
Pope Urges World Prayer Meeting
ASSISI, Italy ( AP) — Pope John
Paul II, deeply concerned about the
impact o f the Sept. 11 attacks, urged
prayers Wednesday so that a gath
ering of world religious leaders in
Assisi can contribute to an “au
thentic and lasting peace.”
Representatives of 11 religions
were joining Roman Catholics and
other C hristian denom inations
Thursday, responding to the pope’s
call to proclaim that religion should
never become a motive for conflict.
They include M uslims, Jews,
B u d d h ists, H in d u s, Ja p a n e se
Shintoists and representatives of
African traditional religions.
Speaking at his general audience
at the Vatican, the pope stressed
the need for “justice and forgive
ness” and expressed hope that the
gathering can make an actual con
tribution toward real peace.
This ancient hill town, the birth
place of St. Francis, has played
host to two earlier such gatherings
called by John Paul: A daylong fast
and prayer against nuclear war in
1986 and a rally for peace in the
Balkans in 1993.
The pope announced the latest
peace day in N ovem ber, em pha
sizing that religion m ust never be
used as an excuse for violence and
hatred.
T he e c u m e n ic a l p a tria rc h ,
Bartholomew I, spiritual leader of the
world’s 300 million Orthodox Chris
tians, accepted the invitation. The
Vatican listed a 29-member Islamic
delegation and 10 Jewish represen
tatives.
EE.UU. suspende vuelos
de prisioneros a Cuba
1 de diciembre - December 1
30 hom bres- 3 0 men
aeropuerto internacional - in
ternational airport
alguien - someone, somebody
AI Kaidah y el Taliban-A l Qaeda
and the Taliban
celdas - cells
Con vención deGinebra -Geneva
Convention
encuentro - meeting
espacio - space
grupos de derechos civiles-civil
rights groups
la base naval estaounidense the
United States naval base
nivel federal - federal level
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Sin em bargo - However
un avión de carga - an airplane
cargo
violar el derecho - violate the
right
Tune into SHOWTIME for
“10,000 BLACK MEN NAMED GEORGE”
The Portland Observer’s com
mitment to cultural diversity in
cludes the encouragement of a
multi-lingual society. Readers can
learn Spanish on this page by
reading the words and phrases in
bold p in t and gaining understand
ing of its meaning with this com
panion glossary.
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l
W ash in g to n (R e u te rs) - El
P e n tá g o n o
ha
su sp e n d id o
te m p o ra lm e n te
lo s
v u e lo s
d ris io n e ro s
c a p tu ra d o s
en
Afganistán hacia la base naval
estadounidense en Guantánamo,
Cuba, en parte debido a que ya no
hay espacio en las celdas, dijeron
hoy funcionarios de Defensa.
Los funcionarios, que pidieron
no ser identificados, dijeron que
los vuelos militares a Guantánamo,
donde 158 “deten id o s” de Al
K a id ah y el T a lib á n ya se
encuentran en pequeñas celdas
bajo una estricta vigilancia, podrían
reiniciarse la semana próxima.
La decisión se produce en medio
de críticas de grupos de derechos
civ iles y algunos legisladores
extranjeros sobre el tratamiento que
reciben los cautivos y la negativa
va designarlos como prisioneros
de guerra bajo la Convención de
Ginebra.
Un funcionario de Defensa de
alto rango dijo a Reuters que no
estaba claro por qué exactamente
los vuelos a Guantánamo, que han
transportado grupos de hasta 30
hombres cada uno este mes, fueron
suspendidos.
Sin embargo, otros funcionarios
indicaron que el espacio era limitado
en la base y que se e stab an
c o n s tru y e n d o
in s ta la c io n e s
permanentes de detención.
“Han sido suspendidos por
ahora”, dijo un funcionario, y agregó
que el secretario de Defensa, Donald
Rumsfeld, también examinaba la
posibilidad de darle a los medios de
prensa un acceso más cercano a los
detenidos sin violar el derecho a la
privacidad que tienen estos.
R u m sfe ld ha d e fe n d id o el
tratamiento dado a los cautivos —
c o n s id e ra d o s e x tre m a d a m e n te
peligrosos, y trasladados hacia Cuba
encadenados y enm ascarados—
diciendo que es humanitario.
“No he encontrado una sola pieza
de inform ación que sugiera que
alguien ha sido tratado de alguna
forma que no sea humana”, declaró
Rumsfeld en un encuentro con la
prensa en el Pentágono el martes.
La suspensión del traslado de los
detenidos a Guantánamo se produce
en momentos en que el combatiente
estadounidense del Talibán, John
W alker Lindh, es trasladado por vía
aérea a un aeropuerto en el área de
W ashington para ser enjuiciado por
acusaciones a nivel federal.
W alker salió de Afganistán el
martes en un avión de carga y se
e sp e ra b a que a te rriz a ra en el
aeropuerto internacional Dulles
cerca de la capital más tarde el
miércoles.
Fue capturado el 1 de diciem bre
en
A fg a n istá n
y a c u sa d o
form alm ente el 15 de enero de
conspirar para matar ciudadanos
estadounidenses y apoyar la red Al
Kaidah (La Base) de Osama bin
Laden.
4
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