Uribe must respond

Gravediggers and forensic experts search for the remains of victims executed by members of the Colombian Army during the armed conflict, in the Dabeiba cemetery, Antioquia, Colombia, on November 10.JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP

After nearly three years of investigation, Colombia's Special Peace Jurisdiction (JEP) published this week a study on the number of civilians killed by the military to pass off as guerrillas killed in the middle of fighting, which is known as

false positives.

Until now, the most reliable official data was that of the Prosecutor's Office —2,248 deaths—, but the court that emerged from the peace agreements between the Government and the former FARC guerrilla raises that figure to 6,402 between 2002 and 2008 alone and warns that they may be many more.

The revelation returns to focus on the politics of former President Álvaro Uribe, who ruled Colombia during the period under investigation.

Uribe has been the great opponent of the peace process of his successor, Juan Manuel Santos, and of transitional justice, which was negotiated in Havana.

In the Senate, with his party, the Democratic Center, he promoted reforms to dilute or end the work of the court.

The magistrates, despite the weight of uribism in the Legislative and Executive, have proven to be an unbreakable and independent body, and have also demanded responses from the top leaders of the guerrillas, a reason for celebration for Colombian democracy.

In this sense, the recent indictment of charges for crimes against humanity against the former leaders of the defunct guerrilla for the kidnappings they committed over decades, a cruel practice that they have already recognized and for which they have apologized, has been significant.

It seems more difficult to see something similar with

false positives

.

Although several army commanders and soldiers have availed themselves of the transitional justice process, in which prison sentences are avoided in exchange for truth and reparation, recognition by the high military commanders has been more precarious.

Uribe, as former president, does not have a legal obligation to the JEP.

Even so, this week's order emphasizes how important his version as commander-in-chief of the military forces would be to clarify the crimes committed during his government.

Instead of committing to clarification, Uribe once again charged his critics and accused human rights organizations of being enemies of his mandate.

The JEP, in its commendable work, a pioneer in any peace process, will continue to listen to the versions of the military who participated in these State crimes.

But by showing with figures that the highest number of

false positives

occurred between 2002 and 2008, he makes it clear that Uribe holds much of the truth about these episodes.

The conflict, which ended after more than five decades, will continue to leave open wounds as long as there are, as in the case of the former president, those who refuse to face their responsibilities.

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