In Colombia, former soldiers have confessed to the killing of more than 100 civilians in 2007 and 2008. The civilians were kidnapped and killed, then presented as members of left-wing guerrilla groups.
Ten ex-servicemen, including a general, spoke at a special tribunal hearing in the city of Ocaña, in the region where the murders took place. They are known as the “false positive” murders, meaning that the innocent victims were portrayed as guerrilla fighters. The tribunal was established as part of the peace agreement reached in 2016 between the rebel movement FARC and the government.
“I acknowledge and accept my responsibility as a co-perpetrator of these war crimes,” said one of the military personnel, Nestor Gutierrez. “We killed innocent people. I want to emphasize that those we killed were simple civilians.” He says pressure from higher up played a role in the events. More than 6,000 civilians have died in this way, according to the tribunal.
‘Purify our surname’
Relatives of the victims have been pleading for the innocence of their relatives for years. “I ask you to clear our family names. They were rural workers, not guerrillas and ruffians, as they were branded,” said the partner of one of the victims during the hearing, writes Al Jazeera.
Alternatives to prison sentences can be offered through the tribunal, if the perpetrators cooperate with the authorities and confess to any crimes. A judge of the tribunal said ahead of the confessions that “after years of silence and fear”, the time for the truth “has finally arrived”. A Colombian former general was convicted last year for his involvement in 104 of similar “false positive” murders.
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