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New Ecuadorean president pledges to honor obligations

Ecuador's new President Alfredo Palacio, pushing for international acceptance of his new government after his predecessor was ousted, pledged to respect international treaties, including a deal allowing US military operations at a strategic Ecuadorean Pacific coast air base.

Ecuadorean lawmakers appointed Palacio, the country's 66-year-old elected vice president, to the presidency last Wednesday after forcing embattled leader Lucio Gutierrez from office. Gutierrez's ouster -- preceded by weeks of popular protests -- was questioned by the Organization of American States.

"Ecuador will be a nation that respects its commitments without restriction. There will be no failure," Palacio told reporters Monday. "This includes the Manta base. If the Manta base has been conceived as a front against drug trafficking, Ecuador will continue in that struggle."

Palacio also vowed not to run as a candidate for elections in October next year, saying he planned to "fulfill" his "obligation to finish the [current] term and turn the country over in an orderly fashion to the next president."

The OAS has demanded an explanation about how Congress could justify its decision to remove Gutierrez for "abandonment of the post" when he was still in the Government Palace issuing orders. The regional body said it would send a high-level diplomatic delegation to investigate whether the ouster was constitutional.

US Ambassador to Ecuador Kristie Kenney sounded a conciliatory tone Monday, saying that the US "never broke relations and we continue to work with the government."

But Kenney refrained from addressing the constitutionality issue, saying she was not "competent to analyze the Constitution of this country. I have never done so and I never will."

"We are going to listen very carefully to the pronouncements of the ministers and the president," Kenney said after a brief meeting with Palacio in the Government Palace. "What is important for my nation at this moment is to see how we can help Ecuador to continue strengthening its democratic system and offer the Ecuadorean people opportunities to grow and generate jobs."

On Sunday, Gutierrez -- after being holed up for four days at the Brazilian ambassador's residence -- flew to Brazil where he had been granted asylum.

Gutierrez, 48, was the third leader of this unstable, oil-rich Andean nation forced from office in eight years. He took office in January 2003 as a populist, anti-corruption reformer but soon angered many Ecuadoreans by adopting economic austerity measures. Many also were upset by growing accusations of nepotism and corruption in his inner circle.

He dissolved the Supreme Court a week ago in hopes of placating protesters who accused him of stacking the court in his favor. But the move backfired and set off even more massive protests.
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