Presidential candidate Gustavo Petro says that if he is elected to office, he will allow the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate President Alvaro Uribe for involvement in extrajudicial killings, or “false positives,” carried out by the Colombian army, reports Caracol.
The Polo Democratico leader said the Treaty of Rome states that, in cases involving crimes against humanity, the ICC must intervene if the national justice system fails to do so.
“False positives are a crime against humanity, which he [Uribe] is responsible for,” Petro said. “The political war of DAS is another crime against humanity, of which Uribe is also the political leader,” he added.
Uribe defended the armed forces on the issue of false positives during a speech Thursday to mark the 100th anniversary of the War College in Bogota.
The president said that certain organizations were attempting to dicredit the army by repeatedly focusing on the extrajudicial killings, while tarnishing the work of the current government.
The president said that there should be no intervention in the matter by foreign organizations.
“It is necessary that the public feels that the armed forces do not need overseas research units to come and investigate, because they recognize the ability and commitment of the nation to detect any anomaly and cure it,” Uribe said.
