| And so they are. To the security of Hugo Chavez and his chums on their rickety thrones, anyway. |
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez spoke about the UNASUR meeting, held last week in Bariloche, and said that "any external attempt to divide the organism" will fail.| What kind of organism: paramecium, blue-green algae, or chupacabra? |
The meeting was called to discuss the presence of US military bases in Colombia.
Through written declarations where he analyzed the results of the UNASUR meeting, Chavez said that it was "absolutely relevant" that, for the first time, the presence of foreign military bases in the region "was discussed in a public manner, open to our people."
Chavez titled his findings "¡Bariloche: Bueno Boche!" and said that, although the discussion was "frank and crude," the meeting "was able to save Latin America's unity."
He added that "the UNASUR is more than a project of simple alliances, and is an analysis of the urgency put on the people" from the area "that share a history, a memory and hope."
However, he added that "President Alvaro Uribe's rhetoric is worrying," and warned that "the problem is that Colombia will not be able to guarantee security to anyone, once the seven military bases are installed.
"Once the bases are installed on Colombian soil, they will be there for who knows how long. And, as a result, peace in the region will be perpetually threatened," said Chavez.
Chavez also referred to the coup in Honduras, which ousted President Manuel Zelaya on June 28, saying that "it is worrying that the situation in Honduras may lose international importance," and that "the international pressure on the guerrillas" be weakened.
"What happened in Honduras was the first step in a military agenda which will only escalate with the presence of US military bases on Colombian territory," said Chavez.