Coup attempt in Ecuador

Global support for Ecuador leader

Neighbours close borders with Ecuador as nations from across the Americas signal their support for Rafael Correa.

World leaders have pledged their support for Rafael Correa, the president of Ecuador, after police seized control of the capital's airport and congress.

Correa himself sought refuge in hospital in the capital, Quito, on Thursday after being teargassed by police officers protesting over plans to remove some of their benefits.

Hugo Chavez, the Venezulean president, called on other leaders in the region to rally to defend his close ally, describing the unrest as "an effort to overthrow President Correa".

"Together with the people of Latin America and the Caribbean we will be vigilant and standing in solidarity [with Correa] in this historic moment," a statement from Chavez's government said.
Borders closed

Neighbouring Peru has closed its border with Ecuador until the situation in the country is cleared up.

"I am ordering all traffic halted on the northern border until the situation is clarified and authority of President Correa restored," Alan Garcia, the Peruvian president told reporters at the government palace.

He said foreign ministers from across South America would try to travel to Ecuador in a bid to resolve the conflict.

Garcia's actions were echoed by Colombia, which also shares a border with Ecuador.

"I spoke with [Peru's president] and the two countries decided to close the borders with Ecuador as a political sign of solidarity with President Correa and with Ecuador's democracy," Juan Manuel Santos, the Colombian president, told reporters before getting on a flight for a regional meeting in Argentina on Ecuador's unrest.

Speaking to Correa before the meeting of the Organisation of American States, Miguel Insulza, the head of 35-nation body, said that the president has the "full support" of the group.

The US envoy to the OAS said that Washington condemned any unconstitutional attempt to unseat the democratically elected president.

"The US condemns any attempt to violate the democratic process and constitutional order of Ecuador," Carmen Lomellin said. "We support the democratic government in Ecuador."

The Mexican foreign ministry expressed "concern over the events today in Ecuador" and called for an effort for "dialogue and conciliation". Similar expressions of support came from leaders in Chile and Paraguay.
Concern for Correa
Europe has also signalled its support for the embattled Ecuadorean president.

"I strongly urge all parties to refrain from violence and actions which could undermine Ecuador's constitutional order and rule of law," Catherine Ashton, the European Union foreign policy chief, was quoted as saying by her spokeswoman Maja Kocijancik.

"I call for the preservation of constitutional order in Ecuador and express my full support to Ecuador's democratically elected institutions."

Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary general, said that he was deeply concerned for the "personal welfare" of Correa.

"The secretary general is deeply concerned about developments today in Ecuador, including reported acts of insubordination by some members of the police and military," a spokesman for Ban said.

"The secretary general is also concerned about the physical condition and personal welfare of President Rafael Correa."

"He welcomes the endeavours of the Organisation of American States and other regional actors to contribute to an early, constructive resolution."

Source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/09/2010930203231902628.html

Coup Attempt in Ecuador Is a Result of Sec. Clinton's Cowardice in Honduras

Posted by Al Giordano - September 30, 2010 at 5:49 pm

By Al Giordano

Oh, crap. Another year, another coup in Latin America. And while today's attempt by police forces in Ecuador went so far as to fire tear gas at elected president Rafael Correa, the military brass in the South American country have sided with the democratic order - its top general is on TV right now strongly backing the elected government - and this one isn't likely to go as well for the anti-democracy forces as last year's did in Honduras.

First, because the Ecuadorean people are far more advanced in social and community organization than their counterparts in Honduras were last year. Second, because the events last year in Honduras caused other center-left governments in the hemisphere to prepare for what everybody saw would be more coup attempts against them in more countries.

Additionally, we can expect in the coming hours that the police leaders responsible for todays events - you don't need to understand Spanish to get a pretty good idea of what went down this morning by watching the above video - will be rounded up and brought to justice, as would happen in any other country, including the United States.

But, kind reader, do you know why this is even happening? Because the same unholy alliance of Latin American oligarchs who can't stomach the rising wave of democracy in their countries - from the ex-Cubans of Miami to the ex-Venezuelans and others who have joined them in recent years - along with international crime organizations seeking new refuges and members of extreme rightist groups in the United States and elsewhere, saw their scheme work in 2009 in Honduras and took note of how quickly, after US President Barack Obama denounced the Honduras coup, his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton began playing both sides of it.

It was this newspaper, through reporter Bill Conroy's investigations, that broke the story last August that the State Department-controlled Millennium Challenge Corporation had poured extraordinary amounts of money into Honduras in the months leading up to the June 29, 2009 coup d'etat. And in story after story, we demonstrated with documented fact how Clinton's Millennium Challenge Corporation went so far as to violate the ban on US aid to the Honduran coup regime. Clinton's later endorsement of farcical presidential elections and her over-reaching attempts to pretend nothing had happened in Honduras are precisely the signals that were received by today's coup plotters in Ecuador when they made a run at toppling the democratic government there.

At present, thankfully, the coup in Ecuador seems more likely to fail than to succeed. And there will be hell to pay for those behind it. But it didn't have to get that far. That only happened because, last year, the US Secretary of State pulled off a kind of "silent coup" in US foreign policy while her commander in chief was buried with the urgent domestic tasks stemming off economic collapse and, as everyone knows, small nations get little attention almost always anyway.

This time, the White House would do well to put a much shorter leash on its Secretary of State, because her horrendous and unforgivable anti-democratic behavior regarding the Honduras coup only fueled, and continues to fuel, understandable speculation that if the United States doesn't walk its talk about opposing coups d'etat, then it must have been an active participant in plotting it. The mishandling of the Honduras situation last year did lasting damage to President Obama's stated hopes to turn the page in US relations with its closest neighbors after decades of abuse and neglect. A single misstep by Secretary Clinton today and in the future regarding the events in Ecuador, like those she repeatedly made regarding Honduras, now that the hemispheric coup plotters have moved from Central America to larger South America, will further erode the cause of democracy in the entire hemisphere. I don't trust her. Nobody south of the border does. And nor should you, Mr. President.

Update: Narco News has translated today's Statement from the Office of President Rafael Correa.

Update II: If it holds, this will be the first time in the history of the hemisphere that the Armed Forces of a country stood up against a coup d'etat from the first moment. Now, that would be democracy at work.

Source: http://narcosphere.narconews.com/thefield/4138/coup-attempt-ecuador-result-sec-clintons-cowardice-honduras