Paramilitary Leaders Should Answer For Human Rights Violations
* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty International *
27 September 2002 AMR 23/110/2002
"Colombian paramilitary leaders should be brought to justice for their role in orchestrating and carrying out appalling
human rights violations against civilians in the country's long-running conflict", Amnesty International said today,
following the request by the United States of the extradition of paramilitary leaders, including Carlos Castaño Gil and
Salvatore Mancuso, on drugs charges. President George Bush declared that Castaño should also be tried for "terrorism".
"The international community should insist that the Colombian government finally takes firm and decisive action to
combat paramilitary groups, including arresting their leaders and severing their links with the Colombian security
forces," Amnesty International said. "The international community should also insist that members of the security forces
responsible for coordinating and supporting paramilitary forces are brought to justice".
"As repeatedly recommended by the United Nations, dismantling the paramilitary structures and breaking their ties with
the Colombian army, together with action to end impunity, is one of the keys to address the human rights emergency
afflicting the country," the organization continued.
Paramilitary groups, which act with the tacit or explicit support or complicity of the armed forces and are an integral
part of their counter-insurgency strategy, are responsible for systematic, mass scale human rights violations including
massacres, targeted killings, "disappearances" and torture. The vast majority of those responsible enjoy full impunity.
"The Colombian government maintains that it is fighting a war on two fronts, against the guerrilla groups and
paramilitaries. However, its failure to take action against paramilitary forces and continuing reports of collusion
between these and the Colombian army mean that these claims cannot be taken seriously," Amnesty International said.
"This makes the recent decision by the United States to release more military aid to Colombia all the more disturbing,"
the organization added, stressing the responsibility of the international community in ensuring that the Colombian
government takes appropriate measures to alleviate the human rights crisis rather than deepening it.
Background
There are currently 26 judicial proceedings open in Colombia against Carlos Castaño, leader of the umbrella paramilitary
group United Self-Defence Groups of Colombia, Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), and the largest paramilitary force,
the Peasant Farmer Self-Defence Groups of Córdoba and Urabá, Autodefensas Campesinas de Córdoba and Urabá (ACCU), for
charges including murder, attempted murder, massacres and kidnapping. Despite the fact that the media have been able to
track him down for interviews on numerous occasions, no serious attempt has been made by the authorities to arrest him
or any of the national paramilitaryleaders, including Salvatore Mancuso.
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