Cablegate: Uribe Calls to Resolve Cases Involving Colombia's

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 008183

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KMDR KPAO OPRC PREL SNAR PGOV CO
SUBJECT: URIBE CALLS TO RESOLVE CASES INVOLVING COLOMBIA'S
MILITARY EXPEDITIOUSLY

1. (U) President Uribe called on Colombia's judicial system
to resolve a number of high profile cases involving the
country's public forces during a townhall meeting in
Cartagena August 27.

BEGIN SPEECH EXCERPTS:

"I was talking to Attorney General Iguarn yesterday and I
told him: `Attorney General, I am going to talk about these
cases publicly, with the highest respect for the
independence of Colombia's judiciary, but these are cases we
have to resolve promptly.'

So, today I am going to ask the nation's judicial system,
the Prosecutor General's Office, judges, Supreme Court
justices to help us solve these cases because we have to be
accountable to Colombian citizens and we have to be
accountable to the international community.

That they help us solve the case of Mapiripn (Meta). The
country needs well documented and unobjectionable final
decisions on that case. That they help us to solve the case
of Santo Domingo (Arauca).

These are two very old cases and the only thing the Vice-
President, the Foreign Minister and I can only say to the
international community that Colombia's justice system is
independent. But they look at the Colombian State as a
whole, as a set of institutions, all connected.

So, these old unresolved cases make for a difficult dialogue
with the international community.

The case of Arauca (that one is not that old, it took place
a year and a half ago during this Administration), we have
to move forward expeditiously on this case. Although some
members of the armed forces have been arrested, we have been
asked to expedite the prosecutorial stages; to advance
faster and reach final decisions.

On the case of Cajamarca (Tolima), which happened at end of
Holy Week last year. A country happy with its Holy Week
vacation, with a greater number of tourists as a result of
safe roads, and we experienced this deplorable event on the
road from Cajamarca to Anaime Canyon. We cannot simply
continue to say that the case is under investigation. This
has to be explained.

In the case of San Jos de Apartad, we have a problem
there: those who accuse the Army say they have witnesses and
that Prosecutor General's Office has heard their
testimonies, but the witnesses have not appeared, and the
accusers say they are going to present their witnesses
before the international community, but they have not done
so either.

Look, our decision is: if the armed forces have committed a
mistake, we have to admit it and bring this error to
justice. But if members of the armed forces did not make a
a
mistake, they cannot be falsely accused.

So, those with grievances against the armed forces should
cooperate with our judicial system, which is honorable.
They should not make charges against the armed forces and
then immediately refuse the witness's presence. They should
help the judiciary explain what happened in San Jos de
Apartad, because it's very hard under these circumstances.

I wanted to refer to these cases; the Government is
interested in total transparency in human rights. Our Army
and Police daily try to improve the respect for human rights
in Colombia. This is very important.

I would add the following: it has been our decision to
recognize a mistake made by the Army or Police promptly. We
have to recognize very quickly an involuntary mistake or any
deceitful act committed by a member acting on his own; not
wait for an investigative journalist to find the truth by
force. We should come out and say it in good faith.

We should step-up and acknowledge it. It has been good for
r
us whenever we have done so. It has been bad for us when we
have found different versions, and we have not been able to
go out and say: `look, this is what happened here', as in
the case of Guatarilla (Nario).

Our decision, both within the Administration and the armed
forces, is to acknowledge the truth. But in those cases in
which there is no possibility of finding the truth from the
beginning, that the Government, cannot say with certainty:
`this is what happened', we need the cooperation of the
judicial system to make decisions within a sensible
timeframe.

No abrupt nor negligent decisions, nor to postponing
decisions indefinitely. Such workings damage the Colombian
justice system and our rule of law."

END OF EXCERPTS

WOOD

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