International
Peace Tribunal in Colombia charges former FARC for child recruitment
March 9th |
For the first time, Colombia’s Peace Tribunal indicted 10 mid-level commanders of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrillas for the recruitment and use of minors in the armed conflict, as well as 13 other war crimes and crimes against humanity, including murders, disappearances, executions and the use of anti-personnel mines.
Wednesday’s indictment is the first in what is known as Case 05, which investigates crimes committed during five decades of conflict in northern Cauca and southern Valle del Cauca, two departments in the southwest of the country where the FARC’s Western Bloc operated.
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), the court created after the signing of the peace agreement between the state and the FARC in 2016, has 10 major cases open in which it is trying former FARC combatants, members of the security forces, state agents and civilians.
At least 18,677 children were victims of forced recruitment during Colombia’s armed conflict, according to the court’s preliminary figures. That crime is being investigated separately in a case that covers the entire country but was included in the charges brought against the 10 former guerrillas on Wednesday.
The court found that the FARC used “recruitment as a political-military strategy as an armed organization,” according to the indictment, especially since the late 1990s, with a “significant increase” since 2011.
Former top FARC commanders have acknowledged that the guerrillas forcibly recruited minors, but have denied that this was a systematic practice.
In the area, most of the minors who joined the guerrilla ranks were indigenous or Afro-descendants, according to voluntary accounts from several of the ex-guerrillas. Former combatant Efrén Núñez Pulido acknowledged before the Court a policy of recruiting minors, among them an “indigenous girl under 15 years of age who was later shot”.
The minors, detailed the Tribunal, were taken through deception and economic offers and many of their families lost track of them or later received their lifeless bodies.
The Court also found that in northern Cauca and southern Valle del Cauca the now defunct guerrillas committed deliberate attacks against the civilian population and aimed to “declare a provisional government” in the area and then “expand their presence and obtain power through the use of arms”.
With its actions, the former guerrillas caused deaths and disappearances of indigenous people and peasants who were accused of being informants or leaders against the insurgency, displaced thousands of people and used anti-personnel mines to achieve territorial and social control and confine the communities, according to the Court.
The former FARC carried out “councils of war” and “executions” within its ranks in which several of its members were shot for going against the rules. According to the Court, the FARC disregarded the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions “since they killed minors and persons who were brought in solely for the purpose of being killed without guarantees”.
In its investigation, the Tribunal compared 28 reports and publications from State entities, indigenous and victims’ organizations, as well as 91 versions from former guerrillas.
The ex-combatants have 30 working days to acknowledge or reject the accusations. If they deny responsibility, they may defend themselves with a lawyer, but if they are found guilty in a trial they could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. If they accept responsibility, they would receive sanctions that do not imply imprisonment.
International
Man arrested after deliberately driving into seven children in Osaka
Japanese police arrested a man on Thursday after he rammed his car into a group of seven schoolchildren in an apparent deliberate attack in the city of Osaka.
The children, who were on their way home from school, sustained injuries and were taken to the hospital. All seven remained conscious, according to local authorities.
An Osaka police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the suspect is a 28-year-old man from Tokyo. The officer shared statements the man made after his arrest: “I was fed up with everything, so I decided to kill people by driving into several elementary school children,” the suspect reportedly said.
The man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
The injured children, aged between seven and eight, included a seven-year-old girl who suffered a fractured jaw. The six other children—all boys—suffered minor injuries such as bruises and scratches and were undergoing medical evaluation.
Witnesses described the car as “zigzagging” before hitting the children. One witness told Nippon TV that a girl was “covered in blood” and the others appeared to have scratches.
Another witness said the driver, who was wearing a face mask, looked to be in shock when school staff pulled him from the vehicle.
Violent crimes are rare in Japan, though serious incidents do occur from time to time. In 2008, Tomohiro Kato drove a two-ton truck into pedestrians in Tokyo’s Akihabara district, then fatally stabbed several victims. Seven people were killed in that attack.
Internacionales
Clashes erupt during may day protests across France amid calls for better wages
May Day protests in France were marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement in several cities.
In Paris, Lyon, and Nantes, thousands took to the streets to demand better wages, fairer working conditions, and to voice their dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
While the majority of the demonstrations remained peaceful, isolated confrontations broke out in some areas. Protesters threw objects at the police, prompting the use of tear gas and resulting in several arrests.
Videos showing police crackdowns circulated widely on social media, drawing criticism from labor unions and human rights advocates, who denounced the authorities’ response to the protests.
International
Kristi Noem credits Trump for mass migrant deportations by mexican president
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem claimed that Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has deported “more than half a million” migrants due to pressure from former President Donald Trump.
During a cabinet meeting highlighting the “achievements” of Trump’s administration in its first 100 days, Noem asserted that under the Republican leader’s influence, “Mexico has finally come to the table” to negotiate on migration and fentanyl trafficking.
“The president of Mexico told me she has returned just over half a million people before they reached our border,” Noem stated, criticizing media reports that suggest the Biden administration deported more migrants than Trump’s.
“I wish those deportations were counted,” Noem added, “because those people never made it to our border—she sent them back because you made her.” She went on to thank Trump: “They never made it here because they got the message—because you were so aggressive.”
Noem has made controversial claims about Sheinbaum in the past, prompting the Mexican leader to refute them.
On April 1, Sheinbaum responded to one such statement by declaring, “The president answers to only one authority, and that is the people of Mexico,” after Noem said on Fox News that she gave Sheinbaum “a list of things Trump would like to see” and that Mexico’s actions would determine whether Trump granted tariff relief.
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