Gustavo Petro

[Bacchus4.0]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustavo_Petro

M-19 militancy[edit]At a young age (around 17) Petro became a member of the 19th of April Movement,[5] a guerrilla group that emerged in 1974 in opposition to the National Front coalition after allegations of fraud in the 1970 presidential elections.

During Petro's militancy in the M-19 guerrilla, the following human rights' violations were among the most memorable committed by this armed group, although there is no evidence that Petro was involved directly in any of these actions: the siege of the Palace of Justice at Bolivar Plaza in Bogota on November 6, 1985. At least 53 civilian casualties were registered, including several members of Colombia's Supreme Court of Justice. The siege has been catalogued as a holocaust and massacre by the Interamerican Human Rights' Court.[6] Other crimes include the siege of the Dominican Republic Embassy, the kidnapping and murder of the Afro-Colombian union leader José Raquel Mercado,[7] of businessman Hugo Ferreira Neira,[8] of the CEO of a petroleum company Nicolás Escobar Soto, who was buried alive in a "people's prison", a cave where his skin got completely covered with fungi before being assassinated.[9] Perhaps the best remembered kidnapping was that of Álvaro Gómez Hurtado: leader of the Colombian conservative party, presidential candidate and director of the newspaper El Siglo (The Century).[10]

In 1985, Petro was arrested by the army for the crime of illegal possession of arms. He was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison.[11][12]

Following the M-19's infamous Palace of Justice Siege (Toma al Palacio de Justicia) Petro used his influence within M-19 to promote peace talks with the government, helping to bring about the eventual dismantling of M-19 in 1990, and the subsequent amnesty for its members.[4] He recently has refused to admit his responsibility for the crimes committed during his participation in the M-19, claiming that the guerrilla group was rather a victim of the government.[13]

[COLGATE4]

1. Petro is a real charmer. With that resume

he should be a candidate for canonization.

[Judi Lynn]

2. You could admit a clearer, more honest picture of that Seige than the one you've mentioned.

Jan 30, 2012


Colonel’s 30-year Palace of Justice sentence upheld
posted by Mary Cecelia Bittner

The Superior Tribunal of Bogota has upheld the 30-year sentence of retired Colonel Luis Alfonso Plazas Vega, for his role in the forced disappearance of civilians during the 1985 Palace of Justice siege.

Plazas Vega had appealed his sentence, claiming he was not involved in the aggravated forced disappearance of 11 people who disappeared after the military retook the Palace of Justice from M-19 guerrillas on November 6, 1985.
Investigations found that Carlos Horacio Uran, an assistant judge to the Council of State, as well as cafeteria workers, two visitors and guerrilla Irma Franco Pineda survived the siege but were not seen again. It’s believed the military tortured and killed them.

The court rejected Plazas Vega’s appeal and also ordered Congress to investigate then-President Velisario Betancurt for his alleged responsibility in one of the bloodiest army offensives in the history of the country.

The former colonel is the only person to have ever been convicted for involvement in the siege, in which more than 100 people died. Retired Colombian army general Ivan Ramirez Quintero and two fellow soldiers were acquitted last month.
The Palace of Justice, seat of Colombia’s Supreme Court, was taken over by M-19 guerrillas on November 6, 1985. Judges, staff, and members of the public were taken hostage.

The occupation and the army siege of the building left more than 100 dead, including 11 of the 25 country’s Supreme Court magistrates, 48 Colombian soldiers, and all 35 guerrillas who took part in the occupation of the building.

http://colombiareports.co/colonels-30-year-sentence-over-palace-of-justice-siege-up-held/

It's so odd reading "history" as explained by right-wingers.

[Bacchus4.0]

3. never would have happened if it weren't for the rebel siege in the first place

your guy Petro sounds like scum.