Colombian armed forces' deadly bounty program gone horribly awry, human rights groups say

mariacvetanoski says on Jun 14, 2009, 09:30:

However, Colombia's comptroller general, Julio César Turbay Quintero, said an audit done this year of the battalions suspected of ''false-positive'' executions showed no proof of payments made with foreign funds. The comptroller conceded that his investigators have very limited access to the covert expenses of the Defense Ministry.

''It is difficult to establish anything because we are limited in our access to the source. We are legally authorized only to review the documents furnished by the armed forces,'' Turbay said.

ACTIONS TAKEN

In the face of the ''false positives'' crisis, the administration of President Alvaro Uribe has taken some steps to rectify the situation. Last November, the army's chief, Gen. Mario Montoya, and 17 other high-ranking officers resigned as the first indications emerged of a scandal that had been systematically denied by the government.

But Montoya's ''punishment'' was hardly severe.

'Gen. Montoya resigned under pressure due to the `false positives' scandals and was 'punished' -- as too often occurs in Colombia -- by being appointed as ambassador,'' said Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who follows closely the situation in Colombia.

Montoya, Colombia's ambassador to the Dominican Republic, has been described by human-rights activists as the promoter of a ''body count'' policy that compelled the armed forces to show results by an excessive reliance on the number of enemy casualties.

Uribe has defended the rewards plan, saying: ``The rewards are paid to the civilians who, with their information, allow the Public Force to be efficient in its actions against the criminals.''

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mariacvetanoski says on Jun 14, 2009, 09:31:

HOW IT ADDS UP

In a statement to the attorney general's office, a Sgt. Alexander Rodríguez discussed how the bounties had been misused.

The sergeant stated that, while a member of Mobile Brigade No. 15, stationed in Ocaña, department of Norte de Santander, on the border with Venezuela, he witnessed the murder of innocent people by army soldiers who later tallied them as enemy casualties.

Rodríguez said that a ''Sgt. Ordoñez'' ordered every soldier in his unit to contribute $10 to pay for a pistol that the soldiers planted on one civilian they killed and passed off as a guerrilla.

In doing so, they ''legalized'' the killing as a ''combat casualty'' because they knew that their superiors 'would give us five days' leave for every casualty,'' Rodríguez said.

The secret directive establishing the bounties, a copy of which was obtained by El Nuevo Herald, was issued in November 2005. It offers $2.5 million for ringleaders who, even if they're not top-level, ``are publicly renowned for their atrocities in their acts against the population.''

At a second level, a $900,000 reward is paid for the leaders of groups responsible for planning and coordinating the largest number of terrorist actions.

If the enemy casualty carries a rifle, the reward is $500. For a hand grenade, $50. If the corpse wears military trousers and shirt: $10 per garment. And if he carries a .50-caliber machine-gun, the reward is $1,500.

The directive also lists rewards for 245 objects. Capturing a lawn mower brings a $15 reward; a horse, $5; a digital camera, $100; a telescopic sight, $35.

The capture or death of a terrorist must be accomplished on the basis of ``information collected in advance or after the fact, or [on the basis of] hypothetical intelligence and/or counterintelligence information, [and] the criminal record of the reported subjects.''

Because the Defense Ministry's directive is secret, no government agency can give any explanation about its application. The directive is known to still be in effect only because Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said so before leaving the ministry last month. Another type of reward for enemy casualties is granted in the form of military leave.

Several organizations that investigate the issue of ''false positives'' point out that the number of casualties has risen considerably on the days prior to Christmas, New Year's, Easter and Mother's Day.

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mariacvetanoski says on Jun 14, 2009, 09:31:

This past week, acting Minister of Defense and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Freddy Padilla de León submitted a report on the progress of 15 measures taken to curb nonjudicial executions.

Padilla, who has already apologized to the nation for the murders, was accompanied by Vice Minister of Defense Sergio Jaramillo and the armed forces inspector general. ''I want to tell the Colombian people to remain calm, to tell them that the positive effects of the adjustments we are making are for the good of our operational effort, an effort with transparency and efficiency,'' Padilla said.

For his part, Jaramillo said that, despite all of the controls that may be adopted to guarantee respect for human rights, no one can promise that similar events will never occur.

''What we can say is that, when they do, we shall be there immediately, investigating,'' he said.

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Chriscan (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jun 14, 2009, 23:28: