World
Institutional
links
Welcome back on
26 -29 August,
ONS 2008
Bridging
the energy gap
is ONS 2006 theme,
from 22-25 August,
in Stavanger, Norway
Petroleumworld
Business
Partners:
Centre for
Global Energy
Studies
  |
|
Editorial Commentary
Veneconomy: Another lost opportunity!
Many analysts questioned the sincerity of President Hugo Chávez’s intentions as mediator in the negotiations for the humanitarian exchange of kidnap victims in the hands of the FARC for guerrillas who are serving time.
The reason for this attitude is that a mediator in a dispute has to be neutral and objective, and, in the opinion of many, Chávez is far from being either.
One example of his lack of neutrality is the case of the Colombian drug trafficker and guerrilla, Rodrigo Granda, who was detained by the Venezuelan authorities and handed over to the Colombians in accordance with the laws of both countries.
Paradoxically, today there are members of the Venezuelan military who are being held in prison by the Venezuelan government on spurious charges. One such is Lieutenant Colonel José Humberto Quintero Aguilar, accused of treason, abuse of power, and lack of military decorum, when his only “offense” was to have arrested Granda in the performance of his duties. As for the Colombian Government, it released Granda as part of the negotiations and he is now helping Chávez in his mediation efforts with the FARC. An hypothesis that has been gaining ground is that Chávez’ is hoping to kill two birds with one stone: on the one hand, paint Álvaro Uribe into a corner and gain points for the Colombian communists at the 2010 presidential elections; and on the other promote his image as a “leader” for peace.
Other developments in recent weeks support this hypothesis:
To begin with, Chávez met with representatives of the guerrilla without first informing the Colombian Government. Then it was learned that Chávez was “mediating” with the guerrilla without having in his possession proof that the kidnap victims were alive. Not even the greenest of negotiators would have made such a blunder.
On top of that, at a press conference in France, Chávez revealed some details of a private conversation with Uribe that would have left the Colombian President looking very bad had it not been for the public clarification issued by the Casa de Mariño.
Now, Uribe’s patience seems to have run out after Chávez, once again breaking what had been agreed, tried to talk with the commander of the Colombian army, General Mario Montoya, without informing Uribe. The Colombian Government responded by issuing a brief communiqué announcing the suspension of Chávez’ mediation efforts.
It is sad that Chávez’ power and influence with the FARC have not produced positive results. It is to be hoped that things will calm down, negotiations will be resumed, and Chávez will reconsider, set aside his private agenda and use the full weight of his leadership to achieve the liberation of hundreds of kidnap victims today in the hands of the FARC.
VenEconomy is a Venezuela's leading specialized publisher in the economic and financial area. VenEconomy's Points of View on the issues of the day, as seen by VenEconomy during the last week. Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views.
Editor's note: This commentary was originally published by VenEconomy, on 11/22/2007. Petroleumworld reprint this article in the interest of our readers. Petroleumworld does not necessarily share these views.
All comments posted and published on Petroleumworld, do not reflect either for or against the opinion expressed in the comment as an endorsement of Petroleumworld. All comments expressed are private comments and do not necessary reflect the view of this website. All comments are posted and published without liability to Petroleumworld.
Fair use Notice: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues of environmental and humanitarian significance. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
All works published by Petroleumworld are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Petroleumworld has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is Petroleumworld endorsed or sponsored by the originator.
Petroleumworld encourages persons to reproduce, reprint, or broadcast Petroleumworld articles provided that any such reproduction identify the original source, http://www.petroleumworld.com or else and it is done within the fair use as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Internet web links to http://www.petroleumworld.com are appreciated
Petroleumworld News 11/28/07
Copyright© 2007 VenEconomy. All rights reserved.
Send this story to a friend
Your feedback is important to us!
We invite all our readers to share with us
their views and comments about this article.Write to editor@petroleumworld.com
Any question or suggestions, please write to:
editor@petroleumworld.comBest Viewed with IE 5.01+
Windows NT 4.0, '95, '98 and ME +/ 800x600 pixels