MOD OVERULES ARMY COMMANDER'S TRANSFER OF KEY HUMAN RIGHTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 003393 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/17 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PTER KJUS MCAP CO SUBJECT: MOD OVERULES ARMY COMMANDER'S TRANSFER OF KEY HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL REF: REF A: BOGOTA2629; REF B: BOGOTA2050 CLASSIFIED BY: William R. Brownfield, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (C) Minister of Defense (MOD) Gabriel Silva Lujan countermanded a transfer order from the army commander that would have sent the reform-minded army inspector general to the defense attache post in Chile -- and to an early retirement. Instead, Army Inspector General (IG) Major General Carlos Suarez, will be promoted to IG over all of Colombia's armed forces. Silva's move countered Army Commander Oscar Gonzalez Pena's obvious effort to frustrate the IG's investigations into "false positives" -- military murders presented as combat kills -- and is a positive indication that the new MOD is willing to continue human rights reform. Despite a significant drop in "false positive" murders, Suarez expressed concern that the practice could once again become common, as many high-level commanders who had directly or tacitly supported it remained in high-level command positions in the military. End Summary. MOD OVERRULES ARMY COMMANDER, PROMOTES IG -------------- ¶2. (C) Following a conversation on November 6 in which the Ambassador expressed the USG's strong reservations over the transfer of IG Suarez, MOD Silva told the Ambassador on November 12 that he had countermanded Army Commander Oscar Gonzalez Pena's order to transfer to Chile Army Inspector General Carlos Suarez, the official who investigated the Soacha extrajudicial executions (EJEs) that led to the dismissal of 51 members of the Colombian Army. Instead, Silva promoted Suarez to serve as IG of the Armed Forces, reporting directly to him. (Note: The position normally reports to Chief of Defense Freddy Padilla. It was unclear whether the MOD intended to change the line of command, though as IG of the Armed Forces Suarez would have more regular access to Silva. End note.) Gonzalez Pena had ordered the IG to transfer effective November 9 to a four-month special project prior to becoming militaryattache to Chile in March 2010. Silva said he was pleased with Suarez' work as IG, and that he intended to give him carte blanche to be aggressive with the Armed Forces on human rights issues. Suarez expressed satisfaction over his promotion and his ability to continue to address military crimes. ARMY COMMANDER LIMITS DISMISSALS, MILITARY JUSTICE "FROZEN" -------------- ¶3. (C) In a meeting with Polcouns on November 6, Suarez attributed the surprise transfer to Gonzalez Pena's ongoing efforts to "paralyze" the IG's approximately 150 investigations into EJEs (REF A). Suarez said Gonzalez Pena had blocked approximately 30 administrative dismissals through his influence on the two other officers who vote on Suarez' recommendations, Deputy Army Commander General Jorge Octavio Ardila and Army Human Resources Head General Javier Fernandez Leal. Suarez voiced doubts that Gonzalez Pena's pick to replace him as Army IG, General Luis Felipe ParedesCadena, would demonstrate independence to promote "false positive" investigations. Suarez also questioned the military justice system's ability to act autonomously in the current environment. Even though the military judges are ostensibly independent, Suarez said, the system is currently "frozen" and human rights cases are not being transferred to the ordinary justice system. FALSE POSITIVES DOWN, BUT COULD RECUR -------------- ¶4. (C) Suarez confirmed a major drop in "false positive" crimes, noting his office had only received nine such allegations -- all but two deemed credible -- in 2009. Still, Suarez underscored the risk of backsliding, given the fact that a number of commanders who had allowed the practice to go on remain in place. In this group he included Gonzalez Pena, Ardila, Fernandez, and Army Human Rights Directorate Head General Jorge Rodriguez, who Suarez labeled as "counter-reform" (REF B). Without significant personnel changes, warned Suarez, there could be no institutional change. COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (C) While technically General Gonzalez Pena has gotten away with transferring an aggressive pro-reform officer out of the number three slot in the Army, we believe Suarez will successfully carry on his work at a higher level. We doubt that Gonzalez Pena will advance on human rights reform in the Army without consistent pressure from MOD Silva and President Uribe. BROWNFIELD =======================CABLE ENDS============================