Dispute over Conejo Island "is a smokescreen," says Salvadoran opposition

San Salvador, El Salvador

 Salvadoran opposition deputies pointed out this Wednesday that any dispute that arises between El Salvador and Honduras over an executive decree on the sovereignty of the Gulf of Fonseca released by the Honduran president, Juan Orlando Hernández, would be a "smokescreen" for distract from the internal problems of each country

 

 Hernández said Tuesday night that he issued a decree to "promote peace and sustainable development in the Gulf of Fonseca and reaffirm national sovereignty in the maritime areas that correspond to Honduras

 

 This includes Conejo Island, on which both countries claim their membership in the aforementioned gulf, which also shares waters with Nicaragu

"This is a eventually diplomatic issue that can be resolved through a mission, without entering into other types of belligerent situations," he said.  Claudia Ortiz, deputy of the Vamos party, also indicated that, in her opinion, rekindling the dispute over the island "would be a distraction from the important problems.

 

 "(Salvadorans) do not want war, we do not want conflict, much less with a neighboring country," she added.  Parliamentarian Johnny Wright, from the Nuestro Tiempo (NT) party, indicated that "it would not be the first time that Rabbit Island has been used to generate smoke

 

 "We know that next November is a critical month both in Honduras, with presidential elections, and in El Salvador, which is pending to know if it will be able to negotiate an agreement with the Monetary Fund," he sai

Conejo Island is a rock of less than a square kilometer and both countries have been fighting for their sovereignty for several years, although the latest controversies arose when the Honduran Army carried out an act and raised its flag

 

 In March 2014, the then Salvadoran president, Mauricio Funes, assured that Conejo Island is Salvadoran and not Honduran.  "There are enough documents in the possession of the Salvadoran State that demonstrate the sovereign possession of El Salvador over Conejo Island," Funes said at the time on a radio progra

 

 El Salvador and Honduras staged the so-called “100-hour war” or “soccer war” in 196 9.m..d..""a..".

Comments

You must be logged in to post a comment.