Lawmakers ordered to testify on links to militias

[Judi Lynn]

Lawmakers ordered to testify on links to militias
POSTED: 2041 GMT (0441 HKT), November 28, 2006

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- The Colombian Supreme Court said Tuesday it was investigating six lawmakers for links to the country's far-right paramilitaries, deepening a crisis for the government of President Alvaro Uribe that has already seen the arrest of four former and current congressmen.

The four senators -- including Alvaro Araujo, brother of the foreign minister -- and two congressmen are accused of conspiracy to commit crime, the court said in a statement.

Five of the six are members of political parties loyal to Uribe.

The six legislators are from Colombia's Caribbean coast, long-known as the heartland of the paramilitary movement, which was originally created by landowners and drug-traffickers as a militia to defend against leftist rebels. The United States lists the paramilitary movement as a "foreign terrorist organization."

Four politicians from northern Colombia are already in jail awaiting trial on charges ranging from funding the paramilitaries to ordering murders.
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http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/americas/11/28/colombia.militia.ap/

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Colombian senator acknowledges signing loyalty pledge to paramilitary groups
The Associated PressPublished: November 26, 2006

BOGOTA, Colombia: A pro-government senator revealed Sunday that he and dozens of other politicians, some of them now members of the government, signed a loyalty pledge in 2001 to right-wing paramilitary warlords.

The comments by Sen. Miguel de la Espriella, published Sunday by the newspaper El Tiempo, are bound to deepen a crisis for the government of President Alvaro Uribe that has already seen the arrest of four former and current congressmen.

De la Espriella, whose Democratic Colombia party is headed by the president's cousin, said he and some 40 other politicians — among them congressman, governors and lawmakers who are now members of Uribe's government — were ordered by paramilitary strongmen to attend a meeting at a ranch near the town of Sante Fe de Ralito, 285 miles (458 kilometers) northwest of Bogota.
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During the 2002 elections, the paramilitaries reportedly intimidated voters in areas under their control to elect lawmakers amenable to their interests.
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As part of that investigation, four former and current congressman from northern Sucre state have been arrested in recent weeks. One of them, Sen. Alvaro Garcia, is accused of murder for his role in "organizing, promoting, arming and financing" a paramilitary massacre of 20 people in 2000, the court said in a statement.
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http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/11/26/america/LA_GEN_Colombia_Paramilitary_Scandal.php

[Judi Lynn]

1. Amnesty Internat'l: Colombia: Paramilitary infiltration of state institutions undermines rule of law

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

Public Statement

AI Index: AMR 23/048/2006 (Public)
News Service No: 306
29 November 2006

Colombia: Paramilitary infiltration of state institutions undermines rule of law
In the last month, at least nine congressmen belonging to pro-government parties have been linked by the judicial authorities to army-backed paramilitary groups. Over the last few decades, paramilitary groups have been held responsible for some of the worst human rights atrocities committed in Colombia, including the killing of tens of thousands of civilians. This political scandal threatens to further undermine the rule of law in Colombia.

On 28 November, the Supreme Court of Justice ordered that six congressmen answer charges over their alleged links to paramilitaries. On 9 November, the same court ordered the arrest of three more legislators, Álvaro García Romero, Jairo Merlano y Erik Morris Taboada, for their alleged links to paramilitaries and, in the case of Álvaro García, for allegedly ordering the massacre by paramilitaries of 15 people in Macayepo, Bolivar Department, in 2000.

This scandal is the latest of many similar revelations in recent months which confirm long-standing assertions by Amnesty International (AI), the UN, and Colombian human rights groups, and systematically denied by successive Colombian governments, over the links that have long-existed between paramilitaries and officials in the security forces, the intelligence services, the legislature, local government, and the public and judicial administrations.

Colombia’s judicial authorities, including the Office of the Attorney General, Fiscalía General de la Nación, and the Office of the Procurator General, Procuraduría General de la Nación, have long been aware of the close links between public officials – including national and regional politicians – and paramilitaries, but took little concrete action to vigorously and effectively investigate these claims. Their hand appears to have been forced by the discovery of a computer reportedly belonging to Rodrigo Tovar, alias “Jorge 40”, leader of the paramilitary Bloque Norte, which allegedly included the names of public officials with links to paramilitary groups, including politicians, judges and security force personnel.
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http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=ENGAMR230482006