US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA8183

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 008183 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KMDR, KPAO, OPRC, PREL, SNAR, PGOV, CO, Military Justice, Human Rts 
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