MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ibero-American summit challenges in six pages

The 15th Ibero-American Summit concluded Saturday with the Declaration of Salamanca that in six pages outlines the great challenges facing the region plus 15 special communications of marked social and political content.

The document consists of 31 points which basically address the region's foreign debt, the devastation of Hurricane Stan in Central America, the challenges of governance and Latin American immigration.

Other points were the creation of an Ibero-American General Secretariat to coordinate the summit's agreements, the struggle against poverty, and the setting up of a network of judicial cooperation.

In line with what was convened previously the leaders of the 22 Ibero-American nations tried to pare down rhetoric and come up with a relatively short document that "will lead to action and facts", Ibero-American secretary general, Enrique Iglesias, said at the closing ceremony.

Beginning Friday, the heads of state and government discussed the document previously drafted by their foreign ministers, adding three points on issues crucial to the conclave: socio-economic reality, immigration and Ibero-America's international role.

"My saddlebags are loaded with many mandates" Mr. Iglesias said at the closing ceremonies, which were led by King Juan Carlos I of Spain.

Though the text drafted by the foreign ministers was barely modified, the leaders engaged in intense negotiations around two special resolutions, one on terrorism and the other on the United States' embargo on trade with Cuba.

On Friday, both resolutions aroused the concern of the U.S. government, as they entail explicit support for the regime of Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who did not attend the meeting.

One of the resolutions reaffirmed the commitment to combat terrorism and called for the extradition to Venezuela of the perpetrator of the bombing of a Cubana de Aviacion plane, which killed 73 civilians in October 1976. The Cuban government accuses anti-Castro activist Luis Posada Carriles of the attack, but his name does not appear in the declaration.

The other resolution calls on Washington to "put an end to the economic, trade and financial blockade of Cuba" and condemns the nation's Helms-Burton Act, which tightens the embargo. The use of the word "blockade" to describe U.S. actions aroused controversy among the Ibero-American foreign ministers, but the presidents chose to include it in the text.

Another controversial resolution expressed support for the demobilization of the illegal armed groups that commit terrorist acts in Colombia.

Cuba and Venezuela opposed calling those groups, including the guerrillas, "illegal" and "terrorist," preferring the term "irregulars". The list of special communications outlines support for "governance" in Nicaragua, for Bolivia's democratic process, and cooperation with middle-income countries so that they do not lose out when aid is granted to the more impoverished.

Others resolutions support Latin American integration and the U.N. stabilization force in Haiti.

The Declaration of Salamanca was accompanied by an Ibero-American Cultural Charter, which champions the region's cultural values and its diversity.

Next year's summit is scheduled to take place in Montevideo.

Salamanca includes Argentina's Falklands' claim

Ibero-American summit leaders meeting in Salamanca called on Argentina and the United Kingdom "to resume as soon as possible" Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas sovereignty negotiations.

In one of the several annexes to the final Salamanca Declaration the 22 leaders present at the summit urged for a quick solution to the dispute "in accordance with United Nations and Organization of American States resolutions" and the principles and purposes outlined in the UN charter.

The administration of Argentine President Nestor Kirchner has made it a constant of its foreign policy to include the Falkland Islands claim in all international declarations and statements, and has even brought up the issue in bilateral talks with Primer Minister Tony Blair.