US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA9294

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 009294 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, MARR, CO, Human Rts, Massacre 
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA COMPLIES WITH 2005 IACHR RECOMMENDATION; 
ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR 1989 MURDER OF TWELVE OFFICIALS 
 
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Summary 
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1.  The Colombian Government formally accepted responsibility 
September 29 for the 1989 murder of 12 members of a GOC 
judicial commission at La Rochela by paramilitary forces, 
working in collaboration with elements of the GOC military. 
The Colombian Government's acceptance of responsibility on 
behalf of the Colombian State fulfills one of the principal 
recommendations of the March 7, 2005 Inter-American 
Commission on Human Rights report on this matter.  End 
summary. 
 
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The 1989 Murders and the IACHR Investigation 
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2.  On January 18, 1989, the Virgilio Barco administration 
sent a judicial commission to the rural area of La Rochela in 
Santander Department to investigate alleged paramilitary 
crimes, including multiple murders, that had occurred in 
1987.  Paramilitary forces kidnapped and murdered 12 members 
of the commission; three members pretended to be dead and 
survived the attack.  On October 9, 2002, the Inter-American 
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) determined that Colombia 
had a case to answer; on March 7, 2005, the IACHR recommended 
that Colombia, among other things, "publicly accept the 
responsibility of the State" for the crimes. 
 
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Colombia Accepts Responsibility, Asks Forgiveness 
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3.  On behalf of the Colombian State and in the presence of 
victims' families and friends, NGO groups, and media 
representatives at a gathering in the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs, Vice President Francisco Santos recognized the 
State's responsibility for failing to protect the judicial 
commission members, and asked the victims' families for 
forgiveness.  Foreign Minister Carolina Barco was present but 
asked Vice Minister Camilo Reyes to deliver her remarks 
because she had lost her voice; Reyes, on Barco's behalf, 
said that Colombia "condemns and deplores" the murders and 
accepts responsibility for what happened.  Santos, Barco, and 
Reyes were joined on the podium by Defense Minister Camilo 
Ospina, Prosecutor General Mario Iguaran, president of the 
Supreme Council of the Judiciary Guillermo Bueno Miranda, 
president of the Council of State German Rodriguez 
Villamizar, and Supreme Court president Carlos Isaac Nader. 
 
4.  Santos unveiled a large plaque recognizing Colombia's 
responsibility for the murders.  The plaque will be displayed 
in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alongside a photo 
exhibition that honors the victims. 
 
Begin informal Embassy translation of plaque: 
 
The Colombian State profoundly regrets the events of January 
18, 1989, in the suburb of La Rochela, in lower Simacota, 
Santander Department, in which were massacred criminal judges 
Mariela Morales de Caro and Pablo Antonio Beltran Palomino, 
with their respective Judicial Commission, composed of Samuel 
Vargas Paez, Gabriel Enrique Vesga Fonseca, Cesar Augusto 
Morales Cepeda, Yul German Monroy Ramirez, Carlos Fernando 
Castillo Zapata, Orlando Morales Cardenas, Virgilio Hernandez 
Serrano, Benhur Ivan Guasca Castro, Luis Orlando Hernandez 
Munoz, and Arnulfo Mejia Duarte, during which events three 
additional personnel survived. 
 
The State recognizes its responsibility for not having taken 
the necessary measures to guarantee the security and personal 
integrity of the personnel. 
 
The effectiveness of the Rule of Law requires sufficient 
security so that justice operates independently and 
impartially. 
 
End informal Embassy translation. 
 
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Families Laud Loved Ones, GOC Commits to Act Against Paras 
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5.  Representatives of the victims' families spoke during the 
ceremony about the effect the loss of their loved ones had 
caused in their lives; some said that they still loved 
Colombia but called for justice for their families.  One 
family representative, whose father died in the attack, spoke 
articulately and at length about the need to ensure that both 
the murderers and their commanders are prosecuted.  In his 
remarks in response, VP Santos said Colombia had convicted 
seven people for the murders and was investigating an 
additional three; he characterized paramilitaries as a "force 
for instability, not stability" in Colombia and said the GOC 
was committed to dismantling their structures. 
WOOD