Colombia’s Armed Forces ordered to apologize for 1996 paramilitary massacre
Colombia’s Armed Forces ordered to apologize for 1996 paramilitary massacre
Jul 17, 2014 posted by Melanie Bencosme
Colombia’s National Police and Navy must issue a court-ordered apology for not intervening in the 1996 slaughter of 14 people by paramilitaries in northwestern Colombia, national media reported on Wednesday.
The State Council ordered that the police and navy shall conduct a ceremony in the village of Pichilin located in the northwest state of Sucre. They must then “offer a public apology to the victims and the community at large,” according to Colombia’s El Espectador newspaper.
In addition to the apology, a plaque will be installed in the central square of the village to show remorse for those killed and that such events are never to be repeated. There is also a victims unit for collective reparation programs such as a unit for land restitution.
The massacre took place December 4, 1996, but two days prior paramilitaries had met with authorities and said they were focused on the 35th Front of Colombia’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which had a camp just past the village, according to Colombia’s armed conflict news site Verdad Abierta.
The orders were clear, the authorities should move out of the way and should not under any circumstances react against the paramilitary troops.
More:
http://colombiareports.co/late-apology-pichilin-massacre/