DATE=2/24/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=COLOMBIA HUMAN RIGHTS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-259538
BYLINE=RHODA METCALFE
DATELINE=BOGOTA
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
/// See also CR 2-259531 ///
INTRO: Colombia's armed forces have sharply denied
allegations by Human Rights Watch that they support
right-wing paramilitary groups, which are responsible
for dozens of massacres of suspected sympathizers of
leftist guerrillas. Rhoda Metcalfe in Bogota reports
Colombian human rights groups say the allegations are
true.
TEXT: For Father Fernan Gonzalez, the accusations
against Colombia's military chiefs included in the
Human Rights Watch report came as no shock. Father
Gonzalez heads one of Colombia's most prestigious
human rights organizations known as CINEP.
/// FIRST GONZALEZ SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
He says what's interesting in the report is that three
or four army divisions have been specifically
identified as having links to paramilitary groups.
Previously, he says, there were accusations against
the army, but they were always vague.
The report states that in certain regions of Colombia,
right-wing paramilitary groups are appearing and
committing massacres for the first time. The Human
Rights Watch report fingers several army brigades for
helping support the creation of these groups and
permitting them to commit atrocities and escape
unhindered. For Colombia's human rights activists, the
most frightening aspect of this report was the
reaction by Colombia's military leaders.
/// TAPIAS SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
The head of Colombia's armed forces, General Fernando
Tapias, rejected outright the accusations. Calling
them untrue and inexact, General Tapias accused Human
Rights Watch of trying to use the information to turn
U-S opinion against the one-point-six billion dollar
military aid package that Congress is currently
considering to help Colombia's war on drugs. The U-S
anti-drug czar, retired General Barry McCaffrey, also
reacted with indignation during a tour of Colombia.
/// MCCAFFREY ACT ///
My own judgment from watching as a friend of
Colombia is that the police and armed forces now
have enormous confidence from the people of this
country. Higher than the Catholic church,
higher than teachers
/// END ACT ///
Most human rights advocates in Colombia disagree.
They point out the police have cleaned up their image
significantly, and that accusations of direct killings
and massacres by the military have almost fallen to
zero.
But as Father Gonzalez points out, Colombia's attorney
general is still investigating alleged links between
military leaders and paramilitary groups -- who have
taken over from the army as the number one human
rights violators in the country.
/// SECOND GONZALEZ SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
He says the military has made some attempts to weed
out officials who were flagrantly involved in
paramilitary abuses. But he says everyone knows there
are investigations against many other military
leaders. To deny that is absurd.
Many observers believe this outright denial is
evidence that the army is resisting a true purge of
paramilitary connections in their ranks. And this may
become a stumbling block as the U-S Congress decides
whether or not to pump more than a billion dollars
into the Colombian military.
NEB/RM/TVM/gm/latam
24-Feb-2000 20:14 PM EDT (25-Feb-2000 0114 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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