Reply #140: Oh really?

[Warren Stupidity]

You might want to check out http://hrw.org/doc/?t=americas&c=colomb to see what one of your (the collective your, as in the bunch of you here who can't wait for the end of democratic socialism in Venezuela) favorite sources against Chavez has to say about Saint Uribe.

For example:
Colombia: US Congress Should Maintain Hold on Military Aid
Visiting Colombian Defense Secretary Must Explain Rise in Reports of Extrajudicial Executions, Say Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch

...
Rather than take the issue of extrajudicial executions seriously, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe in a July speech claimed that “the guerrillas have another strategy: every time there is a casualty in the guerrillas, they immediately mobilize their chorus leaders in the country and abroad to say that it was an extrajudicial execution.”

Uribe has repeatedly made statements attempting to link human rights groups to Colombia’s guerrilla groups, which for decades have been responsible for serious and repeated violations of international humanitarian law.

AIUSA and HRW also noted that there has been no significant progress in a number of high-profile cases of human rights violations implicating the military. One example is the case of General Rito Alejo del Río, whose US visa was revoked several years ago due to evidence that he had collaborated with paramilitaries in human rights violations when he commanded the 17th Brigade of the Colombian Army. Early in the Uribe administration, the investigation was summarily closed. Paramilitary commander Salvatore Mancuso has recently stated in hearings before prosecutors that Del Río had, in fact, collaborated with his group. Prosecutors have yet to reopen any investigation into the allegations against Del Río.
http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/10/18/colomb17131.htm

or

Colombia: Uribe Must Respect Judicial Independence
President’s Interference with Ongoing Investigations Threatens the Rule of Law
(New York, October 9, 2007) – Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s interference with investigations conducted by the Colombian Supreme Court and his repeated attacks on the court itself are a threat to judicial independence, Human Rights Watch said today.

Yesterday, Uribe issued a public statement calling for an investigation into allegations that a Supreme Court justice, Iván Velásquez, had sought to persuade an imprisoned individual to provide testimony implicating the president in an assassination. Uribe stated that he had received a letter from this individual denouncing the justice’s actions.

Uribe also stated that he directly called Justice Velásquez, to ask him about the allegation. Velásquez is the head of the Supreme Court team charged with investigating links between politicians and abusive paramilitary groups.

“Against all odds, Colombia’s Supreme Court has been making unprecedented progress in investigating links between paramilitaries and politicians close to the president,” said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. “President Uribe’s phone call to the judge charged with these highly sensitive investigations amounts to political pressure that could intimidate the court and affect the outcome of the cases.”

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/10/09/colomb17057.htm

or

Letter to President Álvaro Uribe
Washington, D.C., June 6, 2007

President Álvaro Uribe Vélez
Presidency of the Republic of Colombia
Palacio de Nariño
Bogota, Colombia

Dear Mr. President:


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Colombia: US Congress Should Oppose Prisoner Release Plan
Press Release, June 6, 2007

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I am writing to express Human Rights Watch's grave concern over your proposal to set free or reduce the prison terms of politicians currently under investigation for various crimes in collaboration with paramilitaries, as well as the measures you are taking to set free members of the FARC guerrillas who are currently serving prison terms for their crimes.

You have offered broad justifications for these measures. However, as we explain below, these measures are in fact inconsistent with the goals you purport to be seeking. Instead, these measures are likely to promote a culture of impunity and cover-up, leaving the power of paramilitary and guerrilla groups intact.

I. The release of paramilitary collaborators

The Colombian Supreme Court has made great strides in recent months in investigating politicians for engaging in criminal activity in collusion with paramilitary groups. For the first time, we are starting to see some of the truth come to light about paramilitaries' mafia–like networks, including their infiltration of the political system. After years of impunity, the institutions of justice are finally sending the message that those who engage in fraud, illegally manipulate the electoral process, and put Colombia’s democracy at the service of criminal interests, will be sanctioned.

http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/06/06/colomb16092.htm

And that is just HRW, one organization.

Your qualifications for sainthood are massively suspect.