Report casts shadow on arms sales
Human Rights Watch report alleges military officers linked to killings
New questions are being raised over the Conservative government’s push to sell arms to developing countries following explosive allegations linking Colombian military officers to the killing of hundreds of civilians during the country’s bloody civil war.
While most of the extrajudicial killings are alleged to have occurred before Canada sold twodozen light armoured vehicles (LAVS) to Colombia in a multibillion-dollar deal, some of those officers remain in uniform and have been promoted to the military’s top ranks.
Colombia’s ambassador to Canada said there is no evidence linking senior officers to any crimes and defended the Conservative government’s decision to sell the LAVS, like those used by Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan, to his country.
“The army is right now using them,” said Ambassador Nicolas Lloreda. “We expect them to be useful for their purpose, which is to protect lives.”
But critics say the allegations, contained in a report from Human Rights Watch, highlight ongoing concerns about both the Colombian military and the Conservative government’s efforts to turn Canada into a global arms supplier.
“These generals were actually promoted and given more responsibility,” said NDP human rights critic Wayne Marston. “The corruption level in that country is almost beyond belief, and I don’t see any evidence of it being cleaned up.”
According to the Human Rights Watch report, Colombian military units executed more than 3,000 civilians and claimed they were guerrilla fighters between 2002 and 2008 to boost body counts and show success during the South American nation’s civil war. The crimes came to light following a media investigation in September 2008.
In the aftermath, more than 800 Colombian military personnel were convicted. But Human Rights Watch said the majority of those imprisoned were low-ranking soldiers, even though evidence suggests senior officers “knew of, or planned, ordered or otherwise facilitated” the killings.
Among those implicated by Human Rights Watch are Colombian military’s current commander, Gen. Juan Pablo Rodriguez Barragan, whose troops were allegedly responsible for 28 deaths, and current army commander Gen. Jaime Lasprilla Villamizar, whose unit allegedly killed 48 civilians.
Lloreda acknowledged in an interview the “horrible” crimes committed by some military personnel. But he said Colombia has “embarked on a very different policy and attitude over the past five years since this government was in office” by cleaning up the military.
The Human Rights Watch report said prosecutors have faced “serious obstacles” to holding senior officers to account. But Lloreda dismissed those concerns, saying the reality is there is no proof to support the allegations against the top commanders.
“You have to be very careful of accusing somebody up the ladder when you have no evidence,” he said.
The report has nonetheless resurrected concerns about Canada’s decision to sell LAVS to Colombia as well as other countries with questionable human rights records such as Saudi Arabia. The government sold 24 LAVS to Colombia in December 2012 for $65 million.
The Conservative government has hailed the Colombia deal and another with Saudi Arabia worth more than $10 billion as victories for Canadian manufacturing. But Cesar Jaramillo of arms-control group Project Ploughshares said the report raises questions about how the government determines who to sell to.
“This raises the question about similar transactions in the future and whether the necessary human rights controls have been put in place,” he said. “I think there is a need for a healthy discussion about the Canadian government’s process for assessing these agreements.”
Alex Neve, head of Amnesty International Canada, said his organization had concerns about the Colombian military, including extrajudicial killings, even before the Human Rights Watch report was released. These included human rights violations against ethnic minorities, indigenous groups and others.
“In this deeply troubling context, before approving any sale of military equipment to Colombia, or any country in which we have evidence of serious human rights violations, it is vital the government demonstrate how and why it is confident the weapons transferred will not be used to violate human rights,” he said.