CNRR AND FORMER PARAMILITARY LEADERS BEGIN FORMAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 007481 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/16/2016 TAGS: KJUS PGOV PINR PREL PTER CO SUBJECT: CNRR AND FORMER PARAMILITARY LEADERS BEGIN FORMAL DISCUSSIONS ON REPARATIONS AND RECONCILIATION Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer. Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) National Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (CNRR) President Eduardo Pizarro said paramilitary leaders expressed interest in beginning reparations and supported reconciliation efforts during a "tense but fruitful" meeting on August 8. They adopted a "threatening tone," however, when discussing the Constitutional Court's opinion upholding the Justice and Peace Law. Pizarro reported that Canadian and Swiss assistance helped establish CNRR offices in Medellin and Sincelejo. End summary. -------------- REPARATIONS ARE ON THEIR WAY... -------------- ¶3. (C) Pizarro said the 37 former paramilitary leaders with whom he met at the "Villa Esperanza" on August 8 expressed their willingness to begin reparations in advance of judicial orders. Para leaders claimed they had already turned over to the GOC the equivalent of USD 52 million in properties, vehicles, and aircraft. In the coming weeks, para leaders asserted they planned to return 60 houses to victims in Medellin and 22 property titles in Uraba. They had already returned 12 houses in Barrancabermeja to the proper owners in July. Pizarro said they agreed the commission would work with every demobilized bloc to assist with reparations in communities where they exercised influence. ¶4. (C) Pizarro noted there was a consensus that the easiest and quickest reparation mechanism is extrajudicial. If there were assets where victims had been identified, it would be easier to return the asset without waiting for a judical ruling, which could take years. He warned some victims were reluctant to accept their properties back because they would owe back property taxes and utility payments. The CNRR may ask Congress to exempt returned proporties from such back payments. ¶5. (C) Pizarro told para leaders the CNRR understands that reparations should not be just a check. The former paramilitary leaders agreed to select 20 municipalities most affected by paramilitary actions for "community reparations." This community reparation would include demobilized paramilitaries' participation in a project that the community selected for reparation and reconciliation purposes. Pizarro said Japan, the U.S., and the World Bank have shown interest in supporting these projects. The World Bank was interested in a project with an indigenous community in Sierra Nevada that cultivates organic coffee. This community selected a coffee threshing machine as its project. He cited the building of a soccer field or a community center as other examples. ¶6. (C) The former paramilitary leaders agreed to assist the CNRR in gathering the truth about the conflict and preventing the re-emergence of criminal groups. Pizarro said the para leaders accepted meeting with the CNRR's Historical Truth Commission to obtain its perspective on the conflict. The former paramilitary leaders also showed interest in sharing information with the CNRR's Commission for Demobilization, Disarmament, and Reinsertion on new criminal groups. ¶7. (C) The meeting also raised the CNRR's plans to participate in facilitating reconciliation talks in prisons with the different illegal armed group members. The first one will take place in the high security prison in Itagui, where Diego Murillo AKA "Don Berna" is located. Don Berna and other paramilitary, ELN and FARC members plan to participate. Among the topics to be raised include efforts to organize an anti-personnel mine campaign in Antioquia Department. -------------- ...BUT WITH LIMITATIONS -------------- ¶8. (C) Pizarro voiced concern with the former paramilitary leaders' threatening tone regarding the Constitutional Court's opinion upholding the Justice and Peace Law. The para leaders said the Court's decision undermined the political agreements made by the GOC during negotiations, which had led to their demobilizations. The Court did not take into account that this was a peace process. They claimed the Court intended to "take away all of their possessions and leave them in misery." If the GOC complied with the Court's decision, the paras would return to the negotiating table. ¶9. (C) Pizarro said para leaders demanded assistance from the GOC to control criminality and assist with reparations. Para leaders complained the GOC pressure to dismantle their military and political structures simultaneously had led to their inability to control their demobilized forces. By dismantling their political structures so suddenly, the GOC has weakened the para leaders' ability to influence disgruntled paramilitaries. Para leaders warned that the rise of criminality in former paramilitary controlled areas should not suprise anyone. The GOC must boost efforts to dismantle these criminal groups before they get out of hand. Para leaders said the reason their presence was "requested" in the regions was because of the lack of state presence; as a result, reparations should be the responsibility of not only the paramilitaries, but also the State. -------------- GOALS FOR VILLA ESPERANZA -------------- ¶10. (C) Pizarro came away impressed with "Villa Esperanza," the paramilitary leaders' new meeting place near Medellin. He was surprised to see many professors and students from Antioquia's National University serving as volunteers. The paramilitary leaders presented a PowerPoint presentation that outlined the following goals for "Villa Esperanza": Begin unofficial translation - A place where national and international communities can meet fraternally. - A place that encourages willingness to work for peace as the ultimate goal. - A place that promotes a democratic, participative, self critical, constructive, and pluralistic debate. - A place where the National Demobilized Paramilitary Movement can establish an open dialogue with war victims. - A place that supports the constructive compilation of historical truth, which is an excellent instrument for reparations. - If we abandon the idealistic views of a society, hopefully we can begin to understand that the paramilitary and guerrilla leaders are more useful to the country leading productive projects...than being behind bars so the detractors can be satisfied. - Those of us who were at war yesterday have given a sincere step for reconciliation today. End unofficial translation. -------------- PIZARRO INFORMS OF CNRR'S PROGRESS -------------- ¶11. (C) Pizarro said the Commission would have six regional reparations and reconciliation offices, located in Medellin, Sincelejo, Bucaramanga, Cali, Barranquilla, and Bogota. The regional offices are to convoke civil society to become involved in reconciliation efforts; create databases on information about expropriated lands; guide victims through the judicial process; and assist in the return of assets through extrajudicial means. With the support of Canada and Switzerland, the Medellin office will open in mid-August, and the Sincelejo office in September. The Medellin office will serve as a pilot. ¶12. (C) The CNRR would like to become a source of information and assistance for victims. The Commission approached the Catholic Church to gain access to its national registry of victims and asked the United Nations for the software capability to create its own victims database. Pizarro said the government had approved 1,800 million pesos (USD 770,000) for a national registry of disappeared persons. Moreover, with resources from Spain, the CNRR is creating a "genetic bank," whose purpose is to identify the bodies of those killed by the paramilitaries. The Commission will also be suggesting to judges the appropriate indemnification amount for victims. The current recommendations by Colombia's penal code are seven times smaller that the ones suggested by the Inter-American Human Rights Court. WOOD