Colombia's Peace Tribunal Charges 10 Former FARC Rebels with War Crimes Against Indigenous Groups
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace alleges systematic attacks including torture, murder, and forced displacement occurred between 1996 and 2016.
Colombia’s transitional justice system has charged 10 former members of the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) with multiple war crimes and crimes against humanity, alleging that the acts were committed against five Indigenous groups.
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) announced Tuesday that between 1996 and 2016, the suspects oversaw torture, murder, and the forced displacement of Indigenous leaders. The JEP also stated that the suspects ordered subordinates to place landmines in Indigenous territories and destroy ecosystems vital to the survival of these tribes.
"Today we are delivering justice to the most forgotten peoples of a segregated Colombia," said JEP magistrate Catalina Diaz during a press conference. "These people have had their basic right to exist compromised."
Among those charged are three former members of the FARC’s last secretariat. The JEP said they led systematic attacks against tribes in a remote southeastern region of Colombia characterized by rainforests and savannahs, areas where the FARC maintained strong territorial control.
One of the accused, Julian Gallo, previously served as a senator for eight years following the FARC's 2016 peace agreement with the Colombian government, which granted the rebel group's leadership 10 seats in the national congress.
Yhon Jairo Figueroa, a leader of the Koreguaje tribe, expressed gratitude for the JEP's actions. "For the first time the Colombian state recognizes that (armed groups) did not just kill individuals," he stated. "But they attempted to kill the knowledge, the language, the territory" of Indigenous groups.
The JEP was established as part of the 2016 peace deal to investigate crimes committed by both sides during Colombia's decades of internal conflict, with the goal of aiding victims in seeking reparation and truth.
An independent truth commission, also formed under the 2016 agreement, previously found that the conflict resulted in at least 450,000 deaths and forced 7 million people to leave their homes.
The former FARC leaders have 30 days to respond to the charges. Under the JEP's statutes, suspects who acknowledge their charges and cooperate with investigations may avoid prison time in favor of providing reparations to victims and participating in truth and reconciliation initiatives. Those who do not accept the charges and are convicted of war crimes face up to 20 years in prison.