Uribe - Advocating Impunity for Right-Wing Death Squads

President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia continues his march down the pathway of moral obtuseness:

President Álvaro Uribe, who enjoys strong public support for vowing to bring order to Colombia, is proposing a law that would effectively grant impunity to right-wing death squads that lay down their arms.

Many Colombians support Mr. Uribe, whose approval rating is 65 percent, because of his reputation as an uncompromising wartime president determined to win Colombia's 39-year conflict. But his legislation, backed by the Bush administration, faces objections from even his allies. It is Mr. Uribe's first serious political challenge since taking office 13 months ago.

The proposed law would allow militiamen from the Self-Defense Forces of Colombia to avoid jail for widespread human rights abuses that include the mass killings of thousands of villagers and the assassination of two presidential candidates. The group's leaders, several already convicted in absentia for murder, would instead be compelled to admit their crimes and make symbolic acts of contrition, compensating victims by providing community services, turning in their land and paying fines.

The AUC (the Spanish acronym) is a terrorist organization, period. So much for "moral clarity" from the Bush Administration:

The proposed law also appears to contradict American policy in Colombia — the State Department lists the Self-Defense Forces as a terrorist group, and a federal court in Washington last year indicted three leaders for trafficking cocaine.

Western diplomats here and American officials who work on Colombia policy, though, say the United States has not only offered support for Mr. Uribe but also has been consulted as his administration drafted the legislation.

"Everybody here understands that you're not going to do a peace process unless you have some sort of arrangement," a Bush administration official who has helped shape policy toward Colombia said by telephone from Washington.

No peace process will exist with impunity. Why take my word for it? Here's what one of Uribe's supporters said:

"Society has a barrier it will not cross and it is that atrocities are not forgiven," Senator Rafael Pardo, a powerful supporter of Mr. Uribe, told Colombia's leading newspaper, El Tiempo. "You turn in a farm and that compensates for a massacre?"

The AUC has proudly worn the appellation "headsplitters." According to the article, they are also expanding their group when it appears that they should be shrinking:

Less ideological critics say Mr. Uribe's legislation could set a dangerous precedent for a country with a weak justice system long exploited by drug traffickers and corrupt politicians.

One Western diplomat said the legislation had already prompted several drug traffickers to buy positions in the Self-Defense Forces in the hope of avoiding jail time and retaining their ill-gotten gains. Those traffickers, as well as paramilitary commanders who have benefited from trafficking, are unlikely to ever lose their land or drug proceeds because the proposed law offers no mechanism to ensure serious investigation. "What is happening here is the biggest legal money laundering and narco-profiting operation ever seen," the diplomat said.

I certainly wouldn't advocate such a remedy for the FARC. I cannot understand the moral logic behind why Uribe and the Bush Administration are advocating this for the AUC. It's morally indefensible.

Comments

[Michael J. Totten]

I imagine this is happening because the death squads are in a position of strength relative to the government, and the government thinks this is better than nothing. I don't like it either, but this is perhaps the explanation. The alternative is probably a hotter war, which is also pretty grim.

[Randy Paul]

I don't think that is the case at all, Michael. To begin with the war is pretty hot already. As witnessed by Uribe's comments in this post, he has clearly sided with the paramilitaries and against the critics of human rights abuses. He accused those criticizing human rights abuses of being in the service of terrorists. What does that make someone who's willing to grant immunity to terrorists like the AUC.

I praised Uribe here, albeit indirectly. As far as I'm concerned he's crossed his Rubicon and (forgive the mixed metaphor) he's about to reap the whirlwind.

[Michael J. Totten]

Ah yes, that's right. I forgot about that "in the service of terrorists" detail.

Both the FARC and the autodefensas are terrorists. It takes a certain kind of person to oppose them both, and it's too bad Uribe isn't one of them.

[Randy Paul]

Boy do I agree with every word you wrote in that last comment.

[Herman]

Randy-
I have minimal knowledge of Cen/S. American affairs, but should I assume the AUC are not a formal government militia force, but are like the other death squad groups found in the region?

[Randy Paul]

Herman,

That's essentially it. The problem, however, is that the AUC has worked with the approval, tacit or explicit of the military and they have financed their operations through drug trafficking and their relations with the narcotraficantes. Some in the leadership of the military feel some loyalty to the AUC, which may be another reason (one that certainly doesn't leave me feeling very sanguine) why Uribe has taken the position he has taken. Carlos Castaño, the AUC head has been indicted in the USA for narcotics trafficking.

[Randy Paul]

Herman, also if you want to read a great book for background history and present context on Colombia, you should read More Terrible than Death: Massacres, Drugs, and America's War in Colombia by Robin Kirk.

[sarah]

Hi: I am trying to find a copy of President Uribe's bill granting amnesty to the paramilitary leaders in English. This is for a law review article I am writing. If you know where I could find this, that would be great. Thank you,
Sarah

[Randy Paul]

Sarah, if you can read Spanish, you might be able to find it here on President Uribe's website. Here's the URL:

http://www.presidencia.gov.co/informe_especial/index.htm

This is devoted to the demobilization (desmovilados) of the paramilitaries. Good luck!