QUESTION: Honduras and Colombia. Have you had any contacts with the delegation sent by the de facto government in Honduras? And also, do you have any updates on the military agreement with Colombia?
MR. CROWLEY: Well, first of all, on the situation in Honduras, there is a delegation from the de facto regime. These are prominent civilians; they’re not members of the regime itself. But they are en route to Washington, and I would expect there will be meetings not only at the OAS tomorrow but also with Acting Assistant Secretary of State Craig Kelly, during which we will continue to encourage the de facto regime that the Arias process is the best chance that Honduras has to resolve this crisis and move towards a new government.
QUESTION: And on Colombia?
QUESTION: Can we stay on Honduras?
MR. CROWLEY: Sure.
QUESTION: There have been some charges that the U.S. knew about the planned coup of President Zelaya because the plane that was carrying him stopped at the air base that houses U.S. troops. Can you respond to those charges?
MR. CROWLEY: Soto Cano Air Base belongs to Honduras. It was run by and operated by the Honduran Air Force, and they make decisions about its use. Military personnel were not involved in the flight that carried President Zelaya to Costa Rica on June 28th. Task Force Bravo members had no knowledge of or any part in the decisions made for the plane to land, refuel, or take off.
In light of the June 20th coup, the 600 American soldiers, sailors, and airmen based at Soto Cano as part of JTF Bravo have ceased conducting joint operations and exercises with the Honduran military.
QUESTION: So you – so the U.S. troops on the air base didn’t – and the Administration didn’t know about the flight until after President Zelaya had already taken off from the air base?
MR. CROWLEY: I think that to the extent that we were concerned about the emerging crisis in Honduras, I think at the ambassadorial level we expressed our concerns to Honduran authorities prior to the coup. I don’t think we had any advance knowledge of what took place.
On Colombia, the United States and Colombia have reached provisional agreement ad referendum. That means that there is a text that was agreed to, and both sides are reviewing the draft prior to signature. This bilateral agreement seeks to ensure effective bilateral cooperation for activities undertaken in Colombia to address security concerns such as illegal narcotics trafficking, illegal armed groups, and terrorism.
In fact, I think the Secretary and Colombian Foreign Minister Bermudez will meet tomorrow, and I think they will have more to say about the bilateral agreement.
QUESTION: Are you trying to reassure the government because there are some criticisms, some tensions in the region?
MR. CROWLEY: Sure. And we have and will continue to talk with other governments about the nature of this agreement. I believe the Colombian Government has and will continue to do the same thing.
Yes.
(Read US Deparment of State Dayli Press Briefing-August 17)
MR. CROWLEY: Well, first of all, on the situation in Honduras, there is a delegation from the de facto regime. These are prominent civilians; they’re not members of the regime itself. But they are en route to Washington, and I would expect there will be meetings not only at the OAS tomorrow but also with Acting Assistant Secretary of State Craig Kelly, during which we will continue to encourage the de facto regime that the Arias process is the best chance that Honduras has to resolve this crisis and move towards a new government.
QUESTION: And on Colombia?
QUESTION: Can we stay on Honduras?
MR. CROWLEY: Sure.
QUESTION: There have been some charges that the U.S. knew about the planned coup of President Zelaya because the plane that was carrying him stopped at the air base that houses U.S. troops. Can you respond to those charges?
MR. CROWLEY: Soto Cano Air Base belongs to Honduras. It was run by and operated by the Honduran Air Force, and they make decisions about its use. Military personnel were not involved in the flight that carried President Zelaya to Costa Rica on June 28th. Task Force Bravo members had no knowledge of or any part in the decisions made for the plane to land, refuel, or take off.
In light of the June 20th coup, the 600 American soldiers, sailors, and airmen based at Soto Cano as part of JTF Bravo have ceased conducting joint operations and exercises with the Honduran military.
QUESTION: So you – so the U.S. troops on the air base didn’t – and the Administration didn’t know about the flight until after President Zelaya had already taken off from the air base?
MR. CROWLEY: I think that to the extent that we were concerned about the emerging crisis in Honduras, I think at the ambassadorial level we expressed our concerns to Honduran authorities prior to the coup. I don’t think we had any advance knowledge of what took place.
On Colombia, the United States and Colombia have reached provisional agreement ad referendum. That means that there is a text that was agreed to, and both sides are reviewing the draft prior to signature. This bilateral agreement seeks to ensure effective bilateral cooperation for activities undertaken in Colombia to address security concerns such as illegal narcotics trafficking, illegal armed groups, and terrorism.
In fact, I think the Secretary and Colombian Foreign Minister Bermudez will meet tomorrow, and I think they will have more to say about the bilateral agreement.
QUESTION: Are you trying to reassure the government because there are some criticisms, some tensions in the region?
MR. CROWLEY: Sure. And we have and will continue to talk with other governments about the nature of this agreement. I believe the Colombian Government has and will continue to do the same thing.
Yes.
(Read US Deparment of State Dayli Press Briefing-August 17)
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