And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Date: Sun, 11 Apr 1999 11:48:04 -0400 From: LISN <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Organization: League of Indigenous Sovereign Nations of the Western Hemisphere Subject: MH: 2 Colombian generals ousted over human rights abuses Date: Sun, 11 Apr 1999 09:34:13 -0500 From: Colombian Labor Monitor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Colombian Labor Monitor wrote: > > ================================================ > Del Rio and Millan were considered so powerful > that even their army superiors reportedly feared > to remove them. > ____________________ ================================================ > MIAMI HERALD > > Saturday, 10 April 1999 > > 2 Colombian generals ousted over human rights abuses > ---------------------------------------------------- > > By Tim Johnson > > BOGOTA -- Moving against one of Colombia's most intractable problems, > President Andres Pastrana on Friday cashiered two senior army officers > accused of sponsoring militias involved in brutal ``cleansing'' campaigns > against leftists. > > Army Gens. Rito Alejo del Rio and Fernando Millan Perez were sent into > retirement without explanation. > > Both officers are under investigation by the federal Prosecutor General's > Office for alleged human rights abuses and could face criminal charges. > > Radionet, an independent network, said Colombia's army chief, Gen. Jorge > Enrique Mora, opposed the cashiering and was meeting with other members > of the high command at army headquarters Friday evening. > > Pastrana's move could help stalled peace talks with the nation's largest > guerrilla insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). > Talks with the rebels began Jan. 7 but stumbled after a rampage by > militias that left an estimated 140 people dead. The slaughter deeply > angered leaders of the insurgency. Talks were postponed until April 20. > > Del Rio, chief of army operations, and Millan, who heads the Army War > College, are the highest-level army officers fired for alleged human > rights abuses. > > Del Rio gained a reputation among hard-liners for pushing leftist rebels > out of the banana-growing northwestern Uraba region in the early 1990s > with the brutal help of clandestine paramilitary forces. Virtual death > squads, the militias executed scores of suspected leftists. > > Millan is linked to a secret death squad in Lebrija, in Santander state, > where rich ranchers have sought to offset inroads by rebels. The death > squad murdered at least 15 people. > > Del Rio and Millan were considered so powerful that even their army > superiors reportedly feared to remove them. > > Copyright 1999 Miami Herald > _______________________________________________________________________ > *********************************************************************** > * COLOMBIA SUPPORT NETWORK: To subscribe to CSN-L send request to * > * [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUB CSN-L Firstname Lastname * > * (Direct questions or comments about CSN-L to [EMAIL PROTECTED]) * > * Visit the website of CSN's Champaign-Urbana (Illinois) chapter at * > * http://www.prairienet.org/csncu Subscribe to the COLOMBIA BULLETIN * > * For free copy and info contact CSN, P.O. Box 1505, Madison WI 53701 * > * or call (608) 257-8753 fax: (608) 255-6621 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * > * Visit the COLOMBIA SUPPORT NETWORK at http://www.igc.org/csn * > * Visit the COLOMBIAN LABOR MONITOR at http://www.prairienet.org/clm * > *********************************************************************** [EMAIL PROTECTED] ================================================ Del Rio and Millan were considered so powerful that even their army superiors reportedly feared to remove them. ____________________ ================================================ MIAMI HERALD Saturday, 10 April 1999 2 Colombian generals ousted over human rights abuses ---------------------------------------------------- By Tim Johnson BOGOTA -- Moving against one of Colombia's most intractable problems, President Andres Pastrana on Friday cashiered two senior army officers accused of sponsoring militias involved in brutal ``cleansing'' campaigns against leftists. Army Gens. Rito Alejo del Rio and Fernando Millan Perez were sent into retirement without explanation. Both officers are under investigation by the federal Prosecutor General's Office for alleged human rights abuses and could face criminal charges. Radionet, an independent network, said Colombia's army chief, Gen. Jorge Enrique Mora, opposed the cashiering and was meeting with other members of the high command at army headquarters Friday evening. Pastrana's move could help stalled peace talks with the nation's largest guerrilla insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Talks with the rebels began Jan. 7 but stumbled after a rampage by militias that left an estimated 140 people dead. The slaughter deeply angered leaders of the insurgency. Talks were postponed until April 20. Del Rio, chief of army operations, and Millan, who heads the Army War College, are the highest-level army officers fired for alleged human rights abuses. Del Rio gained a reputation among hard-liners for pushing leftist rebels out of the banana-growing northwestern Uraba region in the early 1990s with the brutal help of clandestine paramilitary forces. Virtual death squads, the militias executed scores of suspected leftists. Millan is linked to a secret death squad in Lebrija, in Santander state, where rich ranchers have sought to offset inroads by rebels. The death squad murdered at least 15 people. Del Rio and Millan were considered so powerful that even their army superiors reportedly feared to remove them. Copyright 1999 Miami Herald _______________________________________________________________________ *********************************************************************** * COLOMBIA SUPPORT NETWORK: To subscribe to CSN-L send request to * * [EMAIL PROTECTED] SUB CSN-L Firstname Lastname * * (Direct questions or comments about CSN-L to [EMAIL PROTECTED]) * * Visit the website of CSN's Champaign-Urbana (Illinois) chapter at * * http://www.prairienet.org/csncu Subscribe to the COLOMBIA BULLETIN * * For free copy and info contact CSN, P.O. Box 1505, Madison WI 53701 * * or call (608) 257-8753 fax: (608) 255-6621 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] * * Visit the COLOMBIA SUPPORT NETWORK at http://www.igc.org/csn * * Visit the COLOMBIAN LABOR MONITOR at http://www.prairienet.org/clm * *********************************************************************** -- ================================================================ In Memory of Chief Vernon Sly Fox Pocknett, Mashpee Wampanoag Nation Memorial Page: http://www.lisn.net/wampanoag.htm#vernonpocknett URLS with Colombian Situation Statements and Updates at: http://www.hookele.com/hepohakualoha Big Mountain Updates at: http://www.lisn.net/home.htm#roberta and http://www.theofficenet.com/~redorman/pagea~1.htm League of Indigenous Sovereign Nations of the Western Hemisphere E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] LISN Web Site | http://www.lisn.net To subscribe to the League Mailing List, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] "This we know: the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth ... Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself." -Chief Seattle to the President of the United States, 1854 &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
