National Assembly of Ecuador. Photo: Franklin Jacome/Press South Agency/Gettyimages.ru
With 82 votes in favor, 60 against and six abstentions, Ecuador’s National Assembly approved Tuesday the amendment to Article 5 of the Constitution, which will authorize the entry of foreign troops and establishment of foreign military bases.
The article, prior to the amendment, established that the South American country “is a territory of peace,” explicitly prohibited “the establishment of foreign military bases or foreign installations for military purposes” and prohibits “the transfer of national military bases to foreign armed or security forces.”
However, last October, President Daniel Noboa introduced a proposed constitutional reform to the legislature to eliminate the restriction after it received Constitutional Court approval.
Under the new wording, the article will be restricted to “Ecuador is a territory of peace,” allowing the executive branch to authorize entry of military forces from other nations as it deems appropriate.
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However, the initiative can proceed only with citizen approval in a popular referendum, local media report.
No referendum date has been set, though Noboa’s proposed question submitted during the legislative process is known: “Do you agree with eliminating the prohibition on establishing foreign military bases or foreign facilities for military purposes, and on ceding national military bases to foreign armed or security forces, by partially amending the Constitution?”
Separately, the Ecuadorian government is reportedly preparing military installations for US troop deployment to combat organized crime, according to documents published by CNN in March. The plans include a new naval installation at Manta, where a US-run military base operated until 2009.
(RT)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SL
