MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mercosur Summit

Support for Argentine claim

South American presidents who last Friday met in Brasilia criticized Britain for its presence in the Falkland Islands and stepped their support for Argentina's claim over the South Atlantic islands. In a brief independent statement, the region's first summit that included British Guiana and Surinam, described the Islands dispute as a "colonial situation", incompatible with the ideals of peace, security and cooperation. The twelve presidents stressed the need for both sides to resume negotiations and called a quick resumption of negotiations as requested by United Nations, with the purpose of achieving a peaceful and lasting solution to the dispute. In London a Foreign Office spokesperson said that in spite of the Brasilia statement, there will be no changes in the current sovereignty situation, unless "the Islanders express their desire to do so". "We have a modern relationship with our Overseas Territories and we respect the Islanders right to self determination", said the British spokesperson.

South American trade block

Meeting for the first time ever twelve South American presidents pledged in Brazil to create a regional free trade area and confirmed their commitment to a clause obliging all twelve to strictly respect democracy. The "Brasilia Communiqué" following two days of talks in the Brazilian capital, included 62 points in five main areas and a clear support to Colombia's peace efforts in the escalating drug and insurgency war amidst fears that violence in that country might spill over the borders in the form of refugee, guerrillas or drug dealers. Brazilian president Henrique Cardoso said that the region had to integrate and demand industrialised countries to open their markets. "We are not prepared to open up more our economies without negotiations that will give us access to rich countries", stressed the host of the summit. The summit's purpose is to create a ten country South American trade block uniting the two existent economic groups, Mercosur, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, and associate members Chile and Bolivia, with the Andean community formed by Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. The