Colombian Defense Minister Gabriel Silva warned that next year’s presidential elections could become an “objective” for foreign militaries, in an interview published on Sunday.
“I’m worried the electoral process and democracy will become an internal and external military objective,” Silva told El Tiempo.
“We cannot allow terrorism or its allies to interfere in the sovereign expression of popular will,” said Silva, who was appointed defense minister last month.
Elections have been scheduled for next Mayin Colombia, which has had increasingly tense relations with neighbors Ecuador and Venezuela.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez froze relations with Colombia last month and recalled his ambassador to the country. Colombia has accused both Chavez and Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa of aiding the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a Marxist guerrilla group.
Venezuela has also been angered by Colombia’s decision to allow the US to use its military bases to conduct anti-drug operations. Chavez last week alleged “a Yankee military force” was planning to invade his country from Colombia.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, who has led a popular crackdown on drug groups and armed insurgents, has not ruled out seeking a third term in office, which would require a constitutional amendment.
Former defense minister Juan Manuel Santos, an ally of Uribe, is also considered a front-runner, and is popular for his hardline stance against militants.
Chavez has dubbed Santos a “threat to continental peace” because the Colombian has expressed support for military operations against rebels based in neighboring countries, if the countries are offering the militants safe haven.
Correa has accused Colombia’s intelligence service of trying to undermine his government by linking it to the FARC.
CONFRONTATION: The water cannon attack was the second this month on the Philippine supply boat ‘Unaizah May 4,’ after an incident on March 5 The China Coast Guard yesterday morning blocked a Philippine supply vessel and damaged it with water cannons near a reef off the Southeast Asian country, the Philippines said. The Philippine military released video of what it said was a nearly hour-long attack off the Second Thomas Shoal (Renai Shoal, 仁愛暗沙) in the contested South China Sea, where Chinese ships have unleashed water cannons and collided with Philippine vessels in similar standoffs in the past few months. The China Coast Guard and other vessels “once again harassed, blocked, deployed water cannons, and executed dangerous maneuvers” against a routine rotation and resupply mission to
GLOBAL COMBAT AIR PROGRAM: The potential purchasers would be limited to the 15 nations with which Tokyo has signed defense partnership and equipment transfer deals Japan’s Cabinet yesterday approved a plan to sell future next-generation fighter jets that it is developing with the UK and Italy to other nations, in the latest move away from the country’s post-World War II pacifist principles. The contentious decision to allow international arms sales is expected to help secure Japan’s role in the joint fighter jet project, and is part of a move to build up the Japanese arms industry and bolster its role in global security. The Cabinet also endorsed a revision to Japan’s arms equipment and technology transfer guidelines to allow coproduced lethal weapons to be sold to nations
‘POLITICAL EARTHQUAKE’: Leo Varadkar said he was ‘no longer the best person’ to lead the nation and was stepping down for political, as well as personal, reasons Leo Varadkar on Wednesday announced that he was stepping down as Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Fine Gael party in the governing coalition, citing “personal and political” reasons. Pundits called the surprise move, just 10 weeks before Ireland holds European Parliament and local elections, a “political earthquake.” A general election has to be held within a year. Irish Deputy Prime Minister Micheal Martin, leader of Fianna Fail, the main coalition partner, said Varadkar’s announcement was “unexpected,” but added that he expected the government to run its full term. An emotional Varadkar, who is in his second stint as prime minister and at
Thousands of devotees, some in a state of trance, gathered at a Buddhist temple on the outskirts of Bangkok renowned for sacred tattoos known as Sak Yant, paying their respects to a revered monk who mastered the practice and seeking purification. The gathering at Wat Bang Phra Buddhist temple is part of a Thai Wai Khru ritual in which devotees pay homage to Luang Phor Pern, the temple’s formal abbot, who died in 2002. He had a reputation for refining and popularizing the temple’s Sak Yant tattoo style. The idea that tattoos confer magical powers has existed in many parts of Asia