US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA8768

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 008768 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ECON, CO 
SUBJECT: LOWER HOUSE PLENARY SESSION TRIES TO FOCUS ON 
DEVELOPMENT OF COLOMBIA'S SMALLEST DEPARTMENT 
 
1.  (SBU) Summary:  The House of Representatives held an 
historic plenary session September 7-8 on the island of San 
Andres, the capital of Colombia's smallest Department, San 
Andres and Providencia.  Despite impassioned and 
nationalistic statements about Nicaraguan incursions into 
Colombian territorial waters delivered by many of the 61 
members of Congress who attended the session, the biggest 
challenge for the department is development.  End Summary. 
 
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Special Congressional Session Focuses on 
San Andres and Providencia 
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2.  (U) Poloff accompanied 61 members of Congress 
(technically a quorum for formal deliberations) to San 
Andres, the largest of Colombia's islands in the Western 
Caribbean and the capital of Colombia's smallest Department, 
San Andres and Providencia, September 7-8 for the first-ever 
session of the House held outside of Bogota.  The session was 
convened by Speaker Julio Gallardo Archbold (Conservative), a 
native of San Andres, to focus attention on local and 
territorial issues.  Prior to the session, Gallardo posed a 
series of written questions to various Ministers, including 
Treasury, Finance, Agriculture, Social Protection, and 
Energy.  Only Finance Minister Alberto Carrasquilla attended. 
 The others sent representatives, which Gallardo noted in his 
opening remarks. 
 
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Some Progress Made on Development, More Needed 
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3.  (U) Ministry representatives reported on progress on 
various development projects required by Law 915 of 2004. 
(Note: The law mandates economic and social development 
initiatives for the islands. End Note.)  This included 
increased air service from the mainland, including a new 
flight to the island of Providencia, as well as the expected 
completion of the Department's first large hospital in 
January 2007.  The representative from the Ministry of Public 
Services announced an investment of more than 24 billion 
pesos (roughly USD 11 billion) in new water and sewer systems. 
 
4.  (U) Because San Andres and Providencia have been duty 
free ports since 1953, trade and economic issues took center 
stage.  Gallardo criticized the GOC for failing to consider 
the impact of trade policy decisions on San Andres and 
Providencia.  He was particularly concerned that recent GOC 
actions limiting Chinese imports conflicted with the 
Department's duty free status.  Other economic discussions 
focused on investment in agriculture, traditional fishing and 
education.  The Agriculture Ministry representative had 
little positive to report.  Similarly, the Education Ministry 
representative noted that investment in bilingual education 
on the islands, required by law, was being hampered by a lack 
of appropriate curriculum and qualified teachers. 
 
5.  (SBU) After a tour of the island on September 8, many 
members of Congress noted the poor condition of most housing 
and disrepair of the roads. Governor Susanie Davis Bryan, 
among other local officials, criticized the inattention of 
the GOC.  Unemployment is high and tourism, which provides 
most jobs and investment, has declined in recent years. 
Investment in other employment-producing sectors, especially 
fishing, has been minimal, they said.  Many locals noted 
their isolation from traditional Colombian culture given 
their Anglo-African roots. 
 
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Complaints Over Alleged Nicaraguan Territorial Incursions 
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6.  (SBU) During the special session, Gallardo and others 
made forceful statements regarding Colombian sovereignty over 
the Department, which includes the islands of San Andres, 
Providencia and Santa Catalina, as well as several smaller, 
uninhabited islands, during the nearly seven hours of live 
televised coverage.  Both President Gallardo and Congressman 
Juan Hurtado (a fellow Conservative) made impassioned 
speeches noting that "San Andres and Providencia are part of 
Colombia!" (Note: An International Court of Justice decision 
in late 2004 found that the islands were part of Colombia, 
consistent with the Barcenas-Esguerra Treaty, signed by both 
countries in 1928 and ratified in 1930.  As a consequence of 
this decision, and the application of several provisions of 
the Convention on the Law of the Sea, Nicaragua's exclusive 
economic zone is, in some places, limited to only 55 nautical 
miles from its coast instead of the standard 200 miles.  End 
Note.)  According to Gallardo and other members of Congress, 
frequent incursions by Nicaraguan fishermen into Colombian 
waters continue. 
DRUCKER