MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Feb. 10 (UPI) -- In 2001, Colombia and Honduras ratified a maritime border treaty which, according to the Nicaraguans, stole more than 50,000 square miles of Continental shelf in the Caribbean Sea.
Now, Nicaragua is demanding it back.
The disputed territory is believed to be rich in petroleum deposits. It is also an important fishery reserve for shrimp and lobster.
Arbitration in the international court in the Hague entered a new stage this week, after Nicaragua responded to preliminary objections presented by Colombia last July. Colombia is arguing that the Hague does not have jurisdiction in the case. Nicaraguans are demanding that a border treaty be canceled that was approved by Columbian and Honduran congresses in 1999.
In 2001, Nicaragua asked the court to affirm its sovereignty and right to the disputed area of the Continental shelf and its corresponding exclusive economic zone in the Caribbean. Nicaragua also claimed sovereignty over San Andres and Providencia islands, Roncador Cay, the Quita Suenos and Serrana banks and others. Territories demanded by Nicaragua are east of the 82nd Meridian in the Caribbean.
Nicaraguan Minister of Foreign Relations, Norman Caldera, said his country's claim to the territory is supported by historical documents, investigations and legal precedents. Colombia has had possession since 1928 of the San Andres and Providencia islands, 200 miles off Nicaragua's Caribbean coast, after the Barcenas-Meneses-Esguerra treaty was signed by both countries. Since 1980, the Nicaraguan government has declared the Barcenas-Meneses-Esguerra treaty invalid, alleging that when it was drafted, the country was militarily occupied by the United States.
Nicaraguan authorities believe the international court will take the case. The expert Edmundo Castillo, who is part of the Nicaraguan team pleading the case before the court, explains that once the jurisprudence question is settled, it will conduct an in-depth analysis of the cause.
Authorities say they have the necessary arguments to show the court that the territory in dispute belongs to Nicaragua.
Castillo said Columbia is trying to keep the international court from analyzing the case, by throwing procedural exceptions in the way. Judge Mauricio Herdocia said in 1937 Colombia accepted the international court's jurisdiction to mediate in the border issues.
(Isidro Lopez is a writer with Tiempos del Mundo)
