Tragedy strikes Colombian lawmakers

Last week while I was putting the finishing touches on a project for work and soccer fans were lamenting Colombia's 5-0 drubbing by Paraguay in the 2007 America's Cup soccer tournament, Colombians were reeling from news that 11 regional lawmakers held hostage since 2002 by the FARC had been killed.

The government accuses the FARC of murdering the deputies, while the FARC claims that they were killed during a botched raid by the military. What is certain is that the deputies were killed under very murky circumstances.

On Saturday, President Uribe responded to a request by France, Spain and Switzerland for an international probe into the killings by accusing them of comparing his administration with its Marxist guerilla enemy. He stated that “the government cannot accept statements from three European delegates that put us on an equal level, that measure the FARC and the government by the same standard.” He added, “We will not accept such disrespect for our democracy as putting the government at the same level as the terrorists of the FARC.”

The President’s fiery speech on Saturday was followed by much more subdued comments on Sunday when Colombian officials announced that they would be investigating whether the 11 lawmakers were killed by stray gunfire during a botched rescue attempt by bounty hunters. The bounty hunters were apparently after the $2.5 million reward offered for each of FARC’s eight leaders. While officials initially dismissed these allegations, they are now considering all possibilities.

Sources: AFP (photo) and AFP, Reuters