Colombia withdraws statement condoling terrorists killed in 'Operation Sindoor'

Bogota, May 31 (IANS) Colombia’s Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Rosa Yolanda Villavicencio has said that her country was withdrawing its inadvertent statement expressing condolences over the deaths in Pakistan from 'Operation Sindoor', according to Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, who is leading a Parliamentary delegation.

“The vice minister very graciously mentioned they have withdrawn the statement that we had expressed concern about, and that they fully understand our position on the matter, which is something we really value”, Tharoor told the media after their meeting here on Friday.

Tharoor had earlier expressed disappointment with Colombia’s statement that appeared to give the impression of a false equivalency between the terrorists killed by 'Operation Sindoor' and their victims in Pahalgam.

With Tharoor standing alongside, Villavicencio said, “We are very confident that with the explanations that we received today and with the detailed information that we now have regarding the real situation on what happened in Kashmir, we can now follow and continue the dialogue”.

Getting the message of the impact of terrorism to Colombia, a country that had suffered its ravages, is significant as it is expected to take a seat on the UN Security Council next year.

It is running unopposed for the Latin American seat in next week’s election.

During a meeting with Colombian media on Thursday, Tharoor said that India was “a little disappointed in the reaction of the Colombian government, which apparently expressed heartfelt condolences on the loss of lives in Pakistan after the Indian strikes, rather than sympathising with the victims of terrorism” in Jammu and Kashmir.

Instead of taking exception to the criticism, Colombia immediately took note of India’s concerns about the statement issued before having a full understanding of the situation, and acted to mitigate it.

Setting the stage for the withdrawal of Colombia’s statement on Pakistan, former President Cesar Augusto Gaviria Trujillo, a leader of the largest party in Congress, said on Thursday, “Colombia has solidarity with India. We check any kind of terrorism, (and) be certain that under any circumstances, we will be on your side.”

The delegation has made headway on creating a nuanced understanding of the situation after the Pahalgam massacre by The Resistance Front, an affiliate of Lashkar-e-Tayiba that is based in Pakistan and backed by it, and the rationale for 'Operation Sindoor'.

At the Friday meeting with Villavicencio, BJP MP Tejasvi Surya said on X the Parliamentarians “briefed her on the sequence of events, from the Pahalgam terror attack to India’s calibrated response under 'Operation Sindoor.'”

The MPs also met with members of the Colombian Congress, including Alejandro Toro, resident of the Second Commission of the Chamber of Representatives, and Jaime Raul. The Second Commission is the panel responsible for international relations.

The Colombian leaders presented Tharoor with a wool poncho for Delhi's winter, and a Colombian hat, Tharoor said on X.

The delegation held “an in-depth and wide-ranging interaction” with the nation’s premier world affairs think tank, Consejo Colombiano de Relaciones Internacionales – CORI (Colombian Council on International Relations). the Embassy in Bogota said on X.

The team also visited Tadeo University and, while there, paid floral tributes at the statue of Mahatma Gandhi.

Tharoor from the Opposition Congress Party leads the team drawn from across India’s political spectrum.

Besides Tejasvi, its members are Shambhavi of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), Sarfaraz Ahmad of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and Milind Murli Deora of the Shiv Sena as well as Shashank Mani Tripathi, and Bhubaneswar Kalita, of the BJP, and GM Harish Balayogi of the Telugu Desam Party, a National Democratic Alliance partner.

The team has visited two elected members of the Security Council, Guyana, which takes its presidency next month, and Panama, which will assume the position in August. It will next visit Brazil, an ally of India in seeking a reform of the Council and mutually supporting the quest for permanent seats, and then go to Washington next week.

--IANS

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