U.N. report: Colombian army kills civilians

A U.N. report released yesterday launched very serious accusations against Colombia’s policy of internal security; chiefly, that Colombia’s armed forces have killed civilians who were falsely labeled as leftist insurgents. According to the Associated Press' coverage:

“In many cases, the victims were falsely presented as leftist rebels killed in combat, crime scene evidence was tampered with and the investigation was led by the military's questioned criminal justice system.

The report said such killings with ‘characteristics of extrajudicial executions do not appear to be isolated incidents’ and may have been prompted partly by the government's use of combat deaths as a benchmark to measure success against leftist insurgents”.

The Colombian government responded in a brief communiqué asserting that they have worked hard to “guarantee the protection of human rights” though the report asserted that in recent years the government has ignored the links between the armed forces and illegal armed groups.

It is in that light that Washington Post columnist Marcela Sanchez wrote in her latest column that any further U.S. aid to Colombia ought to emphasize “justice and the rule of law” instead of increased militarization. Sanchez noted the importance of bolstering Colombia’s justice system in light of the demobilization process with paramilitary groups and tee increase in extrajudicial murders. She concludes that:

“So far the Bush administration has only paid lip service to the idea of shifting the balance between hard and soft aid. Its budget request for fiscal year 2008 is practically a carbon copy of past requests, with the majority of funds (more than $367 million) still going to drug interdiction and eradication.

Yet, with Democrats now the majority on Capitol Hill, Bush's opportunity to make the shift has never been better. The president himself seemed to recognize the importance of such a shift when, during his stop in Bogota, he said: 'The best way to heal (Colombia's) wounds is for people to see fair, independent justice being delivered.' There is no question that Colombia presents itself as the easy case for Bush's newfound goodwill diplomacy. “

Links- ABC News, El Tiempo, RCN, Arizona Daily Star

Image- Common Dreams