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A FARC guerrilla attack on an听oil听pipeline has created an environmental disaster while destroying 12 homes and displacing more than 50 families.
The Colombian armed forces, state听oil听company Ecopetrol, and the Ministry for the Environment and Sustainable Development are racing to form a contingency plan to prevent run off from the听oil听spill from contaminating the region鈥檚 water supply. The Catatumbo River that has already been affected, flows into Venezuela where it empties into Lake Maracaibo.
The attack late Tuesday on the Ca帽o Lim贸n-Cove帽asoil听pipeline has led Ecopetrol to temporarily suspend itsoil听production in the Catatumbo until it has the situation under the control.
In response to the uproar regarding the most recent spate of attacks by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on vital points of the country鈥檚 infrastructure, the rebel group has again called for a bilateral cease-fire from Cuba, where it has been engaged in peace talks with the Colombian government since November 2012.
鈥淒espite Santos鈥� inconsistencies and distortions, the guerrilla joins the national and international clamor for a bilateral cease-fire,鈥� FARC secretariat member and spokesperson Joaqu铆n G贸mez said Wednesday.
G贸mez continued that while differences still exist, 鈥渢hese disagreements shouldn鈥檛 prevent us from pacting a bilateral cease-fire鈥�. He said such an agreement 鈥渋s all a matter of political will鈥�.
According to Ecopetrol, the company has registered more than 16 attacks by the FARC on pipelines, wells,oil听production equipment, maintenance teams and听oiltransportation vehicles during the last two weeks.听听
鈥淭hose who are directly affected by these attacks are the Colombian citizens especially the poorest, becauseoil听production is reduced, transportation is reduced and therefore the funds for social investment are less, this means fewer schools, fewer health centers, less infrastructure and less finances to pay for their pensions,鈥� said Juan Carlos Echeverry, president of Ecopetrol, in a statement released Wednesday regarding the most recent attacks.
Tuesday鈥檚 attack on Colombia鈥檚 largest听oil听pipeline that transports crude听oil听from the northeastern Arauca province to the Caribbean coast where it is shipped for refinement, is just one in a number of atrocities perpetuated by the FARC since the group called off its unilateral cease-fire in May.
Buenaventura was left powerless late last month after the FARC destroyed a tower that supplied electricity to the Pacific port city of 400,000.
Then on June 11, an attack o the Transandean pipeline in the department of Nari帽o caused an听oil听spill of around 4,000 barrels and affected as many as 7,000 families in the region near the city of Tumaco.
Environment Minister Gabriel Vallejo said it will take up to 12 years to fully recover from the damage to the environment.
The long-suffering Colombian public is demanding answers of President Juan Manuel Santos and the legitimacy of the peace dialogues.
In response. Interior Minister Juan Fernando Cristo tired to address the public鈥檚 concerns. 鈥淭here are concerns regarding the attitude of the FARC,鈥� he said, while adding that he continues to support Santos. 鈥淲e reiterate our support of President Santos in the search for a negotiated exit to the conflict, in spite of the difficulties,鈥� he said.
By听Richard McColl听
Anadolu Agency
enerji@aa.com.tr
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