A8


The World by Juan Forero


bogota, colombia — After the posturing and hysterics, an emergency meeting and compet- ing press briefings, South Amer- ican leaders were unable to re- solve a crisis that began when the Colombian government accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chá- vez of aiding and abetting Colom- bian guerrillas. “A package of lies and manipu-


lations with which to attack our country,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro said af- ter diplomats from across the continent gathered in Ecuador on Thursday. Their inability to find common ground between Colombia, a close U.S. ally, and Chávez’s social- ist administration leaves relations between the two Andean neigh- bors in tatters in the waning days of Colombian President Álvaro Uribe’s eight-year presidency. The challenge for incoming president Juan Manuel Santos, as he prepares for his Aug. 7 inaugu- ration, is to repair Colombia’s ties to a leader suspicious of its moti- vations and links to Washington while somehow prodding Ven- ezuela to reverse what Colombian authorities consider wholeheart- ed support for two rebel groups. As defense minister for three years until 2009, Santos engi- neered decisive blows against the most potent of the two rebel groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and his office released reams of docu- ments that showed close links be- tween rebel commanders and Chávez’s closest associates. But since his election in May, Santos has stressed the need to patch up relations with Chávez, who last year cut commercial ties in a dispute over the U.S. mili- tary’s presence in Colombia. “In any case, Santos, more than


any Colombian, has no illusions about the FARC presence outside of his country’s borders, and he cannot afford to ignore this issue, especially if he wants ending the armed conflict to be his legacy as president,” said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington policy group. Many governments in South America, even those friendly to Uribe, consider the conflict in Co-


S


KLMNO Leaders can’t quell Colombia’s feud with Venezuela


SATURDAY, JULY 31, 2010


France to advise suspects of rights


Court rules police detention law is unconstitutional


by Edward Cody DOLORES OCHOA/ASSOCIATED PRESS


At a meeting on Thursday in Ecuador, Brazilian Vice Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota, left, discussed the crisis with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro and Ricardo Patiño, Ecuadoran foreign minister, as Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermúdez, right, listened.


lombia to be Bogota’s problem, not theirs, even though FARC reb- els frequently cross frontiers and have been linked to radical groups in Chile and Paraguay. Co- lombian diplomats, who have briefed regional leaders about FARC activities, privately say that response is discouraging. “Countries that are affected by terrorism tend to be a bit isolated because those who are not suf- fering from it in the end do not care too much,” said a former sen- ior official in the Uribe adminis- tration, who spoke on the condi- tion of anonymity because of the delicate nature of the topic. “To a large extent, that’s what we saw in these meetings” with other Latin American diplomats.


Support for terrorists?


At the heart of the matter is an issue that Colombians consider of paramount importance: whether Chávez’s government provides sanctuary, rifles, ammunition and tactical support to Colombian rebel groups, as Uribe’s govern- ment claims. Colombian officials have long contended that the


guerrillas use the alleged assis- tance to cross into Colombia and attack armed forces and civilians. “The issue is serious — is a na- tion state supporting a terrorist group or isn’t it?” said Chris Saba- tini, senior director of policy for the Council of the Americas, a New York-based organization that tracks politics in Latin Amer- ica. “That deserves more atten- tion, more seriousness, than one president losing his cool and a group of presidents posturing over it.” The latest spat with Venezuela began when Uribe authorized his defense minister to hold a news conference, in which it was an- nounced that Colombia had irre- futable evidence of Venezuela’s support for the rebels. At a special session of the Organization of American States in Washington on July 22, Colombia’s ambassa- dor to that body, Luis Alfonso Hoyos, presented videos, photo- graphs and maps that he said showed the presence of 1,500 reb- els in dozens of camps inside Ven- ezuela. The accusations prompted


Seniors can live at home, with the best trained caregivers in America.


Chávez, a firebrand populist who has frequently lauded Colombia’s rebels, to accuse Colombia of fab- ricating the evidence as a pretext to invade. He also charged that the Obama administration, a close ally of Uribe’s, was behind the machinations. Chávez severed diplomatic re-


lations with Colombia on July 22 and warned that the probability of war with Colombia was higher than it had been in “many years, I’d say 100 years.” On Friday, he said he had deployed infantry and air force units, although he did not offer specifics.


Questionable timing The timing of Uribe’s latest ac-


cusations raised questions among some observers, who noted that the Colombian government has for two years been providing evi- dence of rebel ties to Chávez’s gov- ernment.


Santos, in a break with Uribe,


had invited Chávez to his inaugu- ration and authorized Maria An- gela Holguin, who will be his for- eign minister, to meet with her Venezuelan counterpart, Maduro.


“It looked like rapprochement was in the works,” said Adam Isac- son, an analyst with the Washing- ton Office on Latin America pol- icy group, who specializes in the Colombian conflict. “It seemed clear that Uribe was sending a message to the president-elect as much as he was sending a mes- sage to Chávez.” Political analysts say one clear winner could be Chávez, whose popularity has slipped in recent months in the face of a grinding recession, rampant crime, food shortages and the region’s highest inflation rate. Venezuela holds congressional elections in Sep- tember. By focusing the country’s atten- tion on the crisis — and the pros- pect of war — Chávez has been able to divert attention from the social and economic problems his government has been unable to address, said Sabatini of the Council of the Americas. “It’s a page from his usual play- book, of trying to stoke national- istic fervor and distract from his own country’s ills,” Sabatini said. foreroj@washpost.com


paris — France’s highest consti- tutional court Friday ordered that French police be stripped of their power to arrest ordinary suspects and interrogate them for 48 hours without bringing charges or reading them their rights. The landmark decision, issued by the Constitutional Council, seemed to herald the end of an ancient but widely criticized practice that defense lawyers and rights advocates have long de- nounced as an invitation to abuse by police officers seeking to brow- beat suspects into confessing. In focusing on suspects’ rights, the council was bucking a hard- line anti-crime trend set by Presi- dent Nicolas Sarkozy, a security- minded conservative who repeat- edly has urged a tough approach to law enforcement. Hours before the ruling was announced, for in- stance, Sarkozy called for broad- ening minimum sentences and stripping nationalized immi- grants of their citizenship if they are convicted of attacking a po- lice officer or government official. Under Sarkozy’s leadership,


first as interior minister and since 2007 as president, the num- ber of people taken into custody and questioned without charges has exploded. According to a Jus- tice Ministry tally, the number rose from 336,718 in 2001 to about 790,000 in 2009. As a result, holding people for 48 hours without bringing formal charges has become “banal,” the council complained. Increasingly, it noted, suspects are being judged on the basis of evidence gathered during such forced in- terrogation, rather than during a broader investigation that would rely more heavily on witnesses and physical proof. The National Bar Council has


URGENT NOTICE: STOCK REDUCTION NECESSARY


A


Our buyers have bought TOO MUCH!


We need to significantly reduce our inventory IMMEDIATELY!


WEEKEND SPECIAL!


STOREWIDE SAVINGS OF UP TO 70%!*


“We’ve used other agencies before, but never dealt with such professional and caring people.” —E.B., Chevy Chase


“I am writing to express my extreme gratitude with the services that your company has provided. Without your caregivers...and their thoroughness in understanding difficult situations, my mother had a very good chance of not surviving. It was only your caregivers’ critical observations that saved the day.” —T.F., Bethesda


“Jessica went above and beyond any caregiver I’ve ever had.” —J.D., McLean


SAVE ON: Baker, Bernhardt, Cresent,


French Heritage, Hancock and Moore, Henkel Harris, Henredon, Hickory Chair, John-Richard Sherrill, Southwood,


Tempur-Pedic and many, many, more. PLUS


Fine Art and Oriental Rugs!


And for a limited time only, SPECIAL CASH INCENTIVES available on all custom orders.


If you have ever wanted to own better quality furniture...


Home Care Assistance is the region’s premiere home care provider specializing in live-in care. Caregivers are trained in our unique Balanced Care Method™


of healthy living and are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or on an hourly basis.


301-654-1525 • 703-356-4333 • 202-296-2124 www.HomeCareAssistance.com


Offices in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC Maryland Residential Services Agency No. R2405 Virginia Home Care Organization No. HCO-09558


1700 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA


703.524.1700 x www.colonyhouse.net *See store for details.


NOW IS THE TIME TO SHOP AT COLONY HOUSE.


waged a campaign in recent months to gain greater access for defense lawyers during interro- gation, suggesting France should institute guarantees similar to those of its European neighbors. Although that issue was not di- rectly addressed in Friday’s rul- ing, the head of the Paris bar, Christian Charriere-Bournazel, told reporters he was very satis- fied. “The Constitutional Council has just reminded us of our heri- tage, that of human rights, of the guarantees due to people in a democratic country,” he said. In response to the lawyers’ pro- tests, the Justice Ministry pledged recently to review its procedures and consider whether to amend the law. But it warned that making sure poor suspects had lawyers would cost about $120 million a year. As it stands, the law grants sus-


pects only limited contact with their defense lawyers during the 48-hour interrogation period, sometimes reducing them to be- ing provided clean underwear and toothpaste rather than legal advice. As the council’s ruling noted, police also have no obliga- tion to notify suspects of the right to remain silent or to have a law- yer. The council said police should


retain their right to question peo- ple without bringing charges if they are suspected of exceptional threats, such as terrorism, drug smuggling or organized crime. Under French procedure, the in- terrogation of terrorism suspects can — and frequently does — con- tinue for days without charges. That “remains a measure of con- straint necessary for certain op- erations,” the council declared. But for ordinary suspects, it said, the practice of a 24-hour ar- rest without charges, renewable for a second 24 hours, violates rights protections that became constitutional law as early as the French Revolution in 1789. In response, Prime Minister


François Fillon pledged that the government will “take the neces- sary legislative steps” to bring the law into conformity with the con- stitution and forward its propos- als to the parliament in the com- ing weeks, presumably after sum- mer holidays. The council gave the govern- ment until next July to draw up new rules to take account of the ruling. It did not specify how the new rules should be cast, saying only that current practice vio- lates the constitution’s human rights provisions.


codye@washpost.com


S


A


T


U


R


D


A


Y


N


D


S


U


N


D


A


Y


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78