Uribe arremete contra fallo por el Palacio de Justicia

Por Constanza Vieira

BOGOTÁ – El presidente de Colombia, Álvaro Uribe, parecía blindado por sus adustos generales cuando salió en televisión para atacar la decisión de una jueza que condenó a un influyente ex alto oficial por crímenes cometidos hace casi 25 años.

Rodeado de la cúpula militar y policial, el presidente arremetió contra el fallo de condena para el coronel (r) Alfonso Plazas y anunció “una nueva legislación”, entre otras metas, para preservar jurídicamente a los militares.

Más temprano expresó que “los derechos humanos no se pueden invocar para cometer abusos contra la fuerza pública”.

Al tiempo, militares retirados descalificaron el fallo contra Plazas como “guerra jurídica y guerra política” promovida por “el terrorismo”, “nacional e internacional”.

RIGHTS-COLOMBIA
Uribe Lashes Out at Sentence for Senior Officer

Constanza Vieira

BOGOTA – Surrounded by a protective phalanx of stern generals and police chiefs, Colombian President Álvaro Uribe assailed a court ruling that sentenced a senior army officer for human rights crimes committed nearly 25 years ago.

In his televised message, the president also announced “new legislation,” among other measures, to provide the military with legal protection. Earlier, he had stated that “human rights cannot be invoked to commit abuses against the security forces.”

Retired colonel Alfonso Plazas was sentenced to 30 years in prison for the disappearance of 11 people in November 1985, when he led a military assault on the Palace of Justice after it was occupied by the leftist April 19 Movement (M-19) guerrilla group.

Retired military officers slammed the conviction of Plazas as “legal and political warfare” driven by “national and international terrorism.”