Thursday, February 20, 2020
4th-place Bolivian candidate calls for anti-Morales alliance
AFP. February 18, 2020
Bolivian presidential candidate Luis Fernando Camacho on Tuesday called on his rivals to form a single bloc to defeat former president Evo Morales's socialist party in the May election.
Right-winger Camacho is one of seven presidential candidates but was running fourth in the latest opinion polls conducted by Ciesmori, with just 9.4 percent.
The leader was Luis Arce, the candidate for Morales's Movement for Socialism (MAS), with 31.6 percent.
The other six candidates are all either centrists, right-wingers or conservatives.
Centrist former president Carlos Mesa was second in the polls with 17.1 percent, ahead of incumbent interim President Jeanine Anez with 16.5 percent.
But Arce -- who's candidacy has yet to be accepted by the electoral tribunal -- is inching closer to a share that could see him win outright in the May 3 election.
A candidate needs either an absolute majority or at least 40 percent and a 10-point lead over the nearest challenger.
Camacho said he would be prepared to step aside as long as others did the same, "so we can all get behind one single candidate."
The candidates met on February 1 in a bid to find unity and get behind just one person, but their attempt failed.
The electoral tribunal is due to rule on Arce's candidacy at the end of the week.
On February 10, the deadline for candidates to register, the tribunal said that Arce's presidential bid was lacking documents.
The tribunal is also due to rule on Morales's bid to stand for a Senate seat.
After almost 14 years as president, Morales resigned in November following three weeks of social unrest following his controversial election victory that would have given him an unconstitutional fourth term in office.
He fled abroad before accepting asylum in Argentina, but an arrest warrant has been issued against him in his absence.
The interim government accuses him of sedition and terrorism for allegedly urging his supporters to lay siege to major cities such as La Paz.
He has also been barred from standing for the presidency, which is why he has targeted the Senate.
Ahead of the electoral tribunal's decision, MAS complained of a "political attempt... to eliminate our candidates by petty and anti-democratic interests."
Colombia: 46 Social Leaders, 10 Ex-FARC Members Killed in 2020
TeleSUR. February 18, 2020
A representative of the National Federation of Unitary Agriculture Deivin Hurtado confirmed that men killed are social leaders and human rights defenders, brothers Albeiro and Luis Hugo Silva Mosquera.
The systematic killing of social leaders and former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) continues with impunity in Colombia, as two brothers - human rights defenders and campesino leaders - were killed Sunday in the southwest department of Cauca, raising the tally to 46 murdered in 2020.
“The aggression was carried out by several armed men. After this, it was already confirmed that the two victims led an organizational process in the area, a worrying aspect because it happens after the murder of an Indigenous leader in less than 24 hours,” Human Rights area Coordinator of the Association of Indigenous Municipalities of the Northern Cauca Mauricio Capaz said.
A representative of the National Federation of Unitary Agriculture Deivin Hurtado confirmed that men killed are social leaders and human rights defenders, brothers Albeiro and Luis Hugo Silva Mosquera.
One of them died in the medical center of this municipality and the other when he was taken to the Valle del Lili clinic in the city of Cali. The community was responsible for providing first aid after allegedly six armed men attacked the Silva brothers, injuring an Indigenous guard as well.
“We continue to regret this kind of situation, not only a family is in mourning, it is a whole community that cries the departure of people who actively participated in the protection and welfare of their territory, thus killing leaders who watched over the general welfare of farmers and Indigenous people, worrying that this will happen amid the high presence of the public force in the territories,” Hurtado added.
So far this year, 46 social leaders and 10 ex-FARC members have been killed, and according to a report from the Institute for Development and Peace Studies (Indepaz), around 630 social leaders have been killed in Colombia, after the signing of the peace agreement in November 2016.
'A mockery of us': Victims' families decry ex-Colombia army chief
Christina Noriega. Al Jazeera. February 15, 2020
Bogota, Colombia - Families of young men extrajudicially killed by Colombia's army in what is known as the "false positives" scandal accused former army chief Mario Montoya this week of "making a mockery" of them and of withholding key information behind the widespread execution of civilians that resulted in at least 2,248 dead.
In a widely anticipated multi-day hearing that started on Wednesday, the retired general was expected to disclose new details about the "false positives" scandal. For decades, the Colombian army killed civilians, dressed them in rebel fatigues, and recorded their deaths as enemy combat kills to inflate body counts and support claims that they were winning the war against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Montoya's testimony has been seen as an important step towards truth and reconciliation as Colombia struggles to establish long-lasting peace after a 52-year-old armed conflict.
Rights groups believe Montoya is the key to uncovering how high up the command chain knowledge of these crimes went and whether former President Juan Manuel Santos and Senator Alvaro Uribe, the defence minister and president respectively at the height of the false positives scandal, were involved. Santos went on to be awarded the Nobel peace prize for his efforts in establishing the landmark 2016 peace deal between the Colombian government and the FARC.
Colombia's peace tribunal, a transitional court system created from the 2016 peace deal to investigate atrocities committed during the armed conflict, called on Montoya to share his account after 11 military members testified against him.
But on the first day of hearings, Montoya initially told judges he would invoke his right to remain silent. After a brief recess, the judges proceeded to ask questions related to an attorney general's investigation and accusations made by other military members, but lawyers for the families say he denied any involvement or knowledge of the crimes and answered questions vaguely.
"The way Mario Montoya answered the questions was another way to remain silent," said German Romero, a victims' lawyer who was present during the hearing. "The peace tribunal says he answered each one of their questions, but those answers contribute absolutely nothing to the truth."
During the second day, victims protested when Montoya reportedly told the court that the soldiers' poor backgrounds were at the root of the crimes, arguing that the army needed more men from higher social classes to prevent these cases from continuing.
"They were very poor and ignorant soldiers that didn't understand the difference between results and casualties and that's why they committed these crimes," Montoya is reported to have said.
'Hurtful'
Ana Paez, whose 32-year-old son was killed in 2008, said the only thing Montoya did was "to make a mockery of us".
"It's been really hurtful to hear all this without being able to say anything," she told Al Jazeera.
Eight military men, including one colonel, were found guilty of her son's murder and later granted conditional freedom when they transferred their cases to the peace tribunal.
"We need to know the truth, this doesn't end here," she said.
Montoya's statements have again fuelled concerns among victims' families that the retired general, the highest-ranking official to appear before the court, may attempt to get off with a lighter sentence and other benefits offered by the peace tribunal without complying with his obligation to contribute to the truth.
Victims' rights groups called on the court to take action in response to Montoya's "delay strategy and refusal to make real contributions to the truth".
The Special Peace Jurisdiction (JEP) said it would consider the victims' request to either expel Montoya from the tribunal or to initiate a judicial procedure that could result in a 20-year prison sentence. If the court decides the former, Montoya's case may face charges in the ordinary justice system that could carry a 40-year sentence.
Accusations against Montoya
Reports of extrajudicial killings peaked from 2006 to 2008, when Montoya led the army as chief commander. Military officials have testified that Montoya verbally pressured officials to increase combat kills. Military units that reported high body counts were also rewarded with holiday time and promotions. According to the Attorney General's Office, at least 2,248 people were killed from 1988 to 2014, although rights groups say the number could be far higher.
Testifying before the peace tribunal, one retired colonel, Gabriel de Jesus Amado, said that Montoya demanded "litres and tanks of blood", making it clear to officers that he required combat kills and not captures. He also accused Montoya of suggesting he take injured men from the operation table, dress them as rebels, and present them as combat kills in 2005.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 44 men were allegedly killed by 4th Brigade troops while now-retired Montoya commanded it from 2001 to 2003. The Attorney General's Office also investigated Montoya for eight "false positive" cases and concluded in one report that the general failed to sufficiently implement control mechanisms during his leadership and ignored external and internal warnings that could have curbed extrajudicial killings.
Montoya denied these claims during his testimony this week, adding that former military members had testified against him in retaliation for having fired them when news of the scandal broke in 2008.
The JEP will cross-examine these statements with reports they have received from rights groups and the Attorney General's Office.
According to Romero, the peace tribunal must also focus on its independent investigations.
"If the JEP plans to work on the basis of trading confessions for benefits, then it's going to be difficult to establish everything that happened," Romero said. "I think the JEP forgets that it's a criminal justice court and that it has to have a strong investigative component."
As Montoya spoke during the first day of this week's hearing, Jeider Ospino, a former soldier who says he was fired for refusing to kill an underage rebel fighter in 2008, gathered outside the tribunal with victims' families.
Ospina said it was important now more than to ever to stop these crimes and to prevent more families from suffering.
"If we knew the truth, then these crimes wouldn't happen again," he said.
Bolsonaro repeats debunked sexual comments about journalist
DAVID BILLER and MAURICIO SAVARESE. AP. February 19, 2020
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro repeated a debunked sexually charged allegation about one of the country’s more prominent journalists on Tuesday, drawing fire from press freedom advocates and even some recent allies.
Bolsonaro referred to Patricia Campos Mello, a reporter for newspaper Folha de S.Paulo who last year won the International Press Freedom Award after coverage of his presidential campaign. She’d also been honored for earlier reporting from the Middle East, U.S. and Africa.
A witness in a congressional hearing testified she had insinuated an offer of sex in exchange for help with a story that triggered an investigation of Bolsonaro’s campaign by Brazil’s top electoral court. Her newspaper quickly debunked the assertion by releasing transcripts, screenshots and recordings of their conversations.
Still, Bolsonaro echoed the insinuation as he spoke outside the presidential residence in Brasilia.
“He talked about the journalist’s harassment, hitting on him. She wanted a scoop, she wanted to give a scoop, at any price, against me,” Bolsonaro said with a smile, using a Portuguese word for “scoop” that can have sexual connotations. That drew laughs from his supporters.
Hours later Bolsonaro spoke to journalists again at the same spot. “Is there anyone from Folha there? So I sexually attacked your reporter? OK. I don’t want to talk to you,” he said before walking away.
The Brazilian Press Association issued a statement calling Bolsonaro’s comment cowardly and embarrassing to Brazilians.
“This misogynous behavior is undeserving of the office of the President and an affront to the Constitution,” the statement said.
Folha, issued a statement calling Bolsonaro’s comment an attack to all professional journalists. “He also tars the dignity, the honor and the decorum as stated by the law for the exercise of the presidency,” the daily added.
Campos Mello declined to comment on Bolsonaro’s insult.
She has suffered online abuse and received threats from supporters of the Brazilian president since October 2018, when Folha published her report on a network of businessmen who allegedly sponsored the production of false news against rival candidate, Fernando Haddad.
The wave of insults against the journalist returned last week after the testimony in Congress.
Like U.S. President Donald Trump, Bolsonaro frequently speaks off the cuff, doesn’t shy from comments perceived as politically incorrect and often uses the press as a foil to rally support. He has repeatedly said that journalists willfully misconstrue his statements and are seeking to undermine his administration.
The incident in Brasilia follows two recent examples of Bolsonaro making offensive arm gestures at a group of journalists.
The Brazilian association of investigative journalism and the Brazilian bar association’s press freedom branch issued a joint statement Tuesday expressing “vehement repudiation” of Tuesday’s statement.
Even the right-wing party that sponsored Bolsonaro’s run for president repudiated his comments. The Social Liberal Party said called the president’s attacks unacceptable and said “they deserve the repudiation of good Brazilians.”
Bolsonaro and son blast probe of Brazil hit man killed by police
Reuters. February 18, 2020
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his son on Tuesday hurled criticism at state authorities investigating the death of an alleged hit man who was suspected of involvement in the murder of a well-known Rio de Janeiro councilwoman.
Far-right Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the president’s eldest son, suggested alleged “militia” leader Adriano Magalhães da Nóbrega, killed earlier this month in a shootout with police, had been tortured in the leftist-controlled state of Bahia.
He also shared a graphic 21-second video that appeared to show the autopsy of Nóbrega, a former Rio police officer.
“Forensics of Bahia (a Workers Party administration) say it is not possible to say whether Adriano was tortured,” Flavio Bolsonaro wrote on Twitter, before describing alleged broken bones and burn marks on the corpse. “Who is issuing fraudulent reports? To hide what? Who ordered the killing of Adriano?”
The Bolsonaro family has been under growing pressure to explain its ties both to Nóbrega, whose wife and mother worked in Flavio’s office when he was a state lawmaker, and indirect links to the murder of slain Rio councilwoman Marielle Franco.
The two cases have been particularly sensitive for the president, who took office vowing to end years of grisly violence and corruption.
The president also took to Twitter on Tuesday to question state officials’ handling of the case, calling for an “independent” forensic investigation.
“Who will handle the forensics for Adriano’s phone? Could they forge an exchange of messages and audios received? Could innocents be accused of crime?” he asked.
The presidential press office declined to comment.
Nóbrega, one of Rio’s most infamous alleged militia leaders, was killed on Feb. 9, after he opened fire on officers coming to arrest him, the Bahia state government said.
The Bahia state government said he was sought in the investigation of Franco’s 2018 death. The leftist councilwoman’s killing drew attention to the growing powers of Rio’s militias, criminal groups comprised of former police officers, who control local gas, property and gambling rackets across Rio state.
Investigators said they had no reason to think any of the Bolsonaros were linked to Franco’s killing, but the first family has nonetheless been dogged by questions about militia ties.
After Nobrega’s death, the president speculated whether the former cop’s killing had been “a tying up of loose ends,” adding that “there is no connection between me and the militia in Rio de Janeiro. Zero, zero.”
Speaking at the same event, Flavio Bolsonaro said: “There is no point trying to tie me to the militia because I have absolutely nothing to do with militia.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)