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“These killings were carried out in a more or less systematic fashion by significant elements within the military”

Excerpts from UN delegate... more at http://www.cipcol.org/?p=912

The “false positives” problem goes beyond Soacha

[T]here are two problems with the narrative focused on falsos positivos and Soacha [the headline-grabbing scandal, which broke in September, surrounding military killings of young men in Soacha, a poor Bogotá suburb]. The first is that the term provides a sort of technical aura to describe a practice which is better characterized as cold-blooded, premeditated murder of innocent civilians for profit. The second is that the focus on Soacha encourages the perception that the phenomenon was limited both geographically and temporally. But while the Soacha killings were undeniably blatant and obscene, my investigations show that they were but the tip of the iceberg. I interviewed witnesses and survivors who described very similar killings in the departments of Antioquia, Arauca, Cali, Casanare, Cesar, Cordoba, Huila, Meta, Norte de Santander, Putumayo, Santander, Sucre, and Vichada. A significant number of military units were thus involved.

Military denials or cover-ups

Some officials continue to assert that many of the cases were in fact legitimate killings of guerrillas or others. But the evidence – including ballistics and forensics reports, eyewitness testimony, and the testimony of soldiers themselves – strongly suggests that this was not the case. The “dangerous guerillas” who were killed include boys of 16 and 17, a young man with a mental age of nine, a devoted family man with two in-laws in active military service, and a young soldier home on leave. I cannot rule out the possibility that some of the falsos positivos were, in fact, guerillas, but apart from sweeping allegations, I have been provided with no sustained evidence to that effect by the Government. Evidence showing victims dressed in camouflage outfits which are neatly pressed, or wearing clean jungle boots which are four sizes too big for them, or lefthanders holding guns in their right hand, or men with a single shot through the back of their necks, further undermines the suggestion that these were guerillas killed in combat.

A further problem concerns the systematic harassment of the survivors by the military. A woman from Soacha described how, in 2008, one of her sons disappeared and was reported killed in combat two days later. When another of her sons became active in pursuing the case, he received a series of threats. He was shot and killed earlier this year. Since then, the mother has also received death threats. This is part of a common pattern.

Not just “a few bad apples”

The key question is who was responsible for these premeditated killings? On the one hand, I have found no evidence to suggest that these killings were carried out as a matter of official Government policy, or that they were directed by, or carried out with the knowledge of, the President or successive Defence Ministers. On the other hand, the explanation favoured by many in Government – that the killings were carried out on a small scale by a few bad apples – is equally unsustainable. The sheer number of cases, their geographic spread, and the diversity of military units implicated, indicate that these killings were carried out in a more or less systematic fashion by significant elements within the military.

By romy on Jun 18, 2009, 16:10 in Politics & the war.

romy says on Jun 18, 2009, 16:11:

in related news the government doesn't want to recognize victims of state violence to the same degree as victims of other goups

El gobierno le pidió al Congreso hundir la Ley de víctimas
http://www.caracol.com.co/nota.aspx?id=831227

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theflatline says on Jun 18, 2009, 16:55:

In other news, war is hell.

Legaleez for Complete Morons - A book for gringos in Colombia for who think they understand the nature of the law in a country where they cannot speak the language.

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Lcacique says on Jun 18, 2009, 17:13:

Thanks for the info, romy.

"Es fácil vivir con los ojos cerrados interpretando todo lo que se ve mal..." ~ J. Lennon

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dwmte7 says on Jun 19, 2009, 03:35:

what comes of all this?

more murders, more denials, more threats. and no house cleaning.

what's your take romy?

patriarch

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papiChulo says on Jun 19, 2009, 07:11:

flatliner... when you gunna buck up and join the cause, GRINGO.

I'm givin'er... givin'er HARDCORE

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ColombianoGringo (Moderator) (Trustee board) (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jun 19, 2009, 07:38:

You're right. War is hell. The Colombian people already suffer more than enough from the farc and the paras. They don't need their own military making it worse.

I'm so hip, I have difficulty seeing over my pelvis.

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papiChulo says on Jun 19, 2009, 07:58:

here here, well said ColombianoGringo.

I'm givin'er... givin'er HARDCORE

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romy says on Jun 19, 2009, 08:26:

I'd like to think that with this spotlight put on them, extrajudicial executions will cease. The problem being that the government relies on the propaganda numbers of 'success against FARC' and most importantly for the continuation of high military spending and justifying war taxes (which they want to make middle class individuals pay for as well) 'FARC is still a threat'. So I'm not in a position to deny either statement that justifies the fight, however I would beg that the Colombian military needs to be on a higher moral ground than the groups that have been identified as criminals.

Also very much worrying, is the lack of recognition that the victims have. The victims law was an important piece of legislation for the restoration of the people that have been terrorized in Colombia. The government has said that this law would have had too high of a cost, which I think is a disaster considering the great amounts that are being spent on weapons, bullets, bombs, planes, etc. not to mention the ready willingness to tax the people for this type of spending. Colombia is living a humanitarian crisis and the government doesn't want to recognize this.

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dwmte7 says on Jun 19, 2009, 09:29:

well put romy....but to be more specific...they don't want to cough up the money they steal to support these projects. if they gave one eye to the corruption that they (govt) inflict on colombia we would all know who the real criminals are. getting into office in colombia is a license to steal.

patriarch

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pobrecito says on Jun 19, 2009, 14:40:

U.N. says Colombian army killed innocent civilians
By Hugh Bronstein
Reuters
Thursday, June 18, 2009 8:45 PM

BOGOTA (Reuters) - A U.N. investigator criticized Colombia on Thursday for not doing enough to punish soldiers who killed innocent civilians and made them look like enemy guerrilla casualties.

The case of 19 men and boys shot dead by soldiers last year and then passed off as rebels killed in combat is but the "tip of the iceberg", U.N. rapporteur on extrajudicial executions Philip Alston said.

Colombians were shocked by the slayings by troops seeking promotions and bonuses offered by an army under increasing pressure to crush the country's 45-year-old leftist insurgency. The 19 were from the impoverished Bogota suburb of Soacha.

When revelations of the crimes surfaced in the local media, the first reaction of many military officials was to place the blame on a few errant soldiers and commanders.

But the U.N. official, concluding a 10-day fact-finding mission, said such cases marked "a more or less systematic" practice by "significant elements within the military."

Alston said the practice was never an official state policy and the defense ministry has acted to end such killings, but efforts to bring the guilty to justice have been slow.

Civilians have been cut down by rogue soldiers around the country in what Alston called the "cold-blooded, premeditated murder of innocent civilians for profit."

Rights groups put the number of victims in the hundreds.

In Soacha, recruiters lured their victims with promises of lucrative jobs. Instead they were slain, then dressed as rebel fighters and photographed holding weapons.

"Evidence showing victims dressed in camouflage outfits which are neatly pressed, or wearing clean jungle boots four sizes too big for them, or left-handers holding guns in their right hands, or men with a single shot through the back of their necks, undermines the suggestion that these were guerrillas killed in combat," Alston said.

The government, which invited the fact-finding mission and cooperated with the inquiry, has taken "important steps to stop and respond to these killings," Alston said. "But the number of successful prosecutions remains very low," he added.

The army is revamping its rules of engagement in a bid to avoid abuses. It has also assigned military human rights lawyers to advise officers in the field, Deputy Defense Minister Sergio Jaramillo told Reuters.

"There have been major changes," Jaramillo said.

President Alvaro Uribe, first elected in 2002, has used billions of dollars in U.S. aid to intensify Colombia's fight against cocaine-funded FARC guerrillas, making wide areas of the country safer.

But critics have denounced the Colombian army's "body count mentality" in which advancement through the ranks can depend on delivering enemy corpses.

"All forms of incentives to members of the military for killing should be removed," Alston said.

(Reporting by Hugh Bronstein, editing by Anthony Boadle)

No mas Tasco66 !

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makopp5 (☼Travelguide writer) says on Jun 19, 2009, 15:15:

"corruption that they (govt) inflict on colombia we would all know who the real criminals are. getting into office in colombia is a license to steal."
When was the government direct not other levels corrupt?

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dwmte7 says on Jun 19, 2009, 18:06:

sorry martin, that one slipped by me. please explain. cause i'd love to explain.

patriarch

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