By EFE
03 Oct 2023, 21:55 PM EDT
The Minister of Defense of Colombia, Iván Velásquez has publicly apologized for the extrajudicial executions committed by the State, known in the country as ‘false positives’.
“We cannot turn the page, we will turn it when we read it, when we know what really happened. These young people were not guerrillasthey were not carrying out conflictive actions (…) “They were men whose lives and dreams were cut short by the criminal action of members of the National Army.”the minister declared during an event for extrajudicial executions in the capital, Bogotá, and Soacha.
“It is not possible to guarantee non-repetition without truth. In everything else they are promises and desires for non-repetition, but we have to know exactly what has happened with these extrajudicial executions, con the disappearance, displacements and find those who have benefited from this war policy in the country and with those who are behind all these acts,” he added.
Velásquez has become, with his presence in this first act of recognition and public apology from the State for the execution of 19 young peoplein the first holder of this portfolio, on which the Army depends, which has stood up for the victims of the ‘false positives’.
President Petro could not attend
This event was called by the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, who assured on his social networks that he would give a speech about these events and “the type of regime that produced them and what it means for the country”, however, he has not arrived because he was at another event in the Cauca region: “ I wanted to come to express on behalf of the Government the solidarity and commitment with each one of you, with life, with the truth, with democracy. He did not manage to arrive and apologizes for not arriving at the meeting on time,” said Velásquez.
However, Petro, from Cauca, has denounced that The country “had governments where hundreds of people disappeared, burned in crematorium ovens, More than 6,000 innocent young people were killed and mass graves were built for tens of thousands of murdered people.”
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