Colombia Support Network

(Translated by Peter Lenny, a CSN volunteer translator)

The Colombia-Europe-United States Coordination and the National Movement of Victims of Crimes of State express their concern and disquiet at the announcement by the Minister of the Interior authorizing the extradition to the United States of the known paramilitary commander, Ever Veloza (aka “HH”), who is involved in criminal proceedings under Law 975 of 2005 (the “justice and peace law”). This confirms that the government of Colombia is not interested in having the truth known about the paramilitaries’ crimes, especially as their testimony may implicate active members of the armed services, businessmen and politicians close to the president as responsible for undertaking joint actions with paramilitary groups and promoting, supporting and funding their criminal operations.



As with the hasty, arbitrary decision to extradite 14 paramilitary commanders in May, so in the case of the paramilitary commander Ever Veloza (alias “HH”). He has confessed to state prosecutors of the Justice and Peace Unit having participated jointly with official forces in criminal operations, in massacres, abductions, sexual violence against women, forced displacement, recruiting of male and female children, and murders of trade unions, and that politician and businessmen were complicit with his actions. The President’s haste in extraditing him reveals once again that the paramilitaries’ negotiations with the government conceal a pact of silence in exchange for impunity for their crimes.



Handing over paramilitary commanders to the United States to be judged for drug trafficking and not for crimes against humanity prevents their victims from making effective use of mechanisms for determining the truth, for applying justice and for securing full reparation for the crimes committed against them, as decided by Colombia’s Supreme Court in a recent sentence, and makes the President and state authorities responsible for undermining their rights.



The Colombia-Europe-United States Coordination and the National Movement of Victims of Crimes of State call on:



1) the governments of Colombia and the United States for the paramilitary commander, Ever Veloza (alias “HH”), to be extradited only after the legal processes against him for crimes against humanity are concluded.



2) the Supreme Court of Justice and the Attorney-General of the Republic to take all necessary steps to prevent his extradition from causing irremediable harm to the effective enforcement of the rights to justice, truth and reparation and to the primacy of international human rights law, under which crimes against humanity and war crimes are imprescriptible and priorities for judgment, and it is the responsibility of States to investigate, prosecute, sanction and punish the culprits and their collaborators in committing these atrocities.



3) to the international community to call on the government of Colombia to comply with its international undertakings as regards protecting victims’ rights to truth, justice and full reparation.

Bogota, July 2008

EXECUTIVE GROUP

COLOMBIA – EUROPE – UNITED STATES COORDINATING BODY

NATIONAL MOVEMENT OF VICTIMS OF CRIMES OF STATE



Colombia Support Network