Colombian Senator claims military killed civilians to show the press as guerrillas
Colombian Senator Claims Military Killed 100 Civilians to Show the Press Guerrilla Fighters¹ Who Died in Combat
(Translated by Elena Meyer a CSN translator)
Last month, Colombian Senator Gustavo Petro accused the military of assassinating at least 100 civilians over the past several years in order to show them to the press, claiming they were guerrilla fighters who died in combat.
Petro, a member of the opposition party, Polo Democrático Alternativo (PDA), made these accusations during senate hearings devoted to investigating a military scandal involving the military¹s alleged participation in clandestine operations against the guerrilla forces.
This legislator claims to have evidence of cases, dating from 1998 to the present, of army operations which have resulted in the assassination of some 100 civilians falsely accused as guerrilla combatants.
Senator Petro proffers that these deviant acts logically result from national policies which measure the country¹s progress against guerrilla factions mainly according to the military¹s reported casualties. This has encouraged the military to produce positive results¹ by what many consider to be nefarious means.¹
The senator reported having heard an intercepted conversation between an Army captain and a member of a paramilitary group in which arrangements were made to assassinate two farm workers in the community of Viotá. These two farm workers were dressed in camouflage gear after they were assassinated in order to be shown to the press as guerrilla combatants.
This Senate hearing was also intended to investigate allegations that two Army officers participated in the July 31, 2006 attack in Bogotá in which explosives killed one person and injured 22, 21 of whom were members of the military.
Testimony was presented which implicated the military in staging operations to confiscate explosives in early August, purportedly to claim that they were to be used by guerrilla factions to cash in on the rewards being offered to those who thwart terrorist activities.
This scandal came to light in late September when the Army¹s commander, General Mario Montoya, announced that an internal investigation ³had exposed probable irregularities.²
The Army claimed that the July attack involving explosives and its subsequent seizure of explosives, allegedly confiscated from guerilla factions, proved that the FARC, [Colombia¹s main guerrilla faction] was waging a campaign to thwart the August 7th inauguration of President Alvaro Uribe into his second four-year term.
The President¹s response to General Montoya¹s announcement was to state that Colombia¹s Attorney General had not found any evidence which would implicate the military in these attacks and that the armed forces should therefore proceed with their regular duties.
When called before these Senate hearings, Colombia¹s Defense Minister, Juan Manuel Santos, maintained that these attacks were part of the FARC¹s terrorist campaign and that the two members of military in the intercepted conversation were simply engaged in intelligence activities.
The only person who has been detained for these activities is a former FARC member, Lydia Alape, a.k.a. Jessica.¹ Local press reports suggest that this individual collaborated with the military¹s intelligence-gathering efforts.
The leader of the Partido Liberal opposition party, former President César Gaviria, strongly urged the government to clarify why this woman was still being detained if it is alleged that she helped the authorities anticipate certain terrorist attacks the FARC might have planned to commit.
Prior to his recent departure to New York to participate in the U.N. General Assembly¹s 61st session, President Uribe stated that he hoped Colombia¹s justice system would soon determine the innocence or guilt of these members of the military.
Uribe went on to state that ³when it comes to justice and honor, the full truth must be told. If they are guilty, they should be jailed; and if they are innocent, they should so be declared; but they should not be left in limbo in the middle of this investigation.²
A senator from the ruling party, Armando Benedetti, accused Defense Minister Santos of having caused this scandal for having initially ordered General Montoya to explain the military¹s alleged involvement in these attacks, then affirming the lack of any evidence to support these allegations.
ARGENPRESS
(Especial para ALTERCOM)
http://www.argenpress.info/
Colombia Support Network
P.O. Box 1505
Madison, WI 53701-1505
phone: (608) 257-8753
fax: (608) 255-6621
e-mail: csn@igc.org
http://www.colombiasupport.net
Colombia Support Network
P.O. Box 1505
Madison, WI 53701-1505
phone: (608) 257-8753
fax: (608) 255-6621
e-mail: csn@igc.org
http://www.colombiasupport.net
posted by CSN at 11:08 AM
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