Colombia: government asks army to permanently halt forced recruitment

Colombian Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez asked the country’s army to finally stop the so-called “beatings”. This is the practice of forced recruitment of those young people who have not decided their military situationfor example, by declaring themselves conscientious objectors, which the Constitutional Court considers illegal.

” Army You may not detain or force any citizen into military barracks or districts for recruitment. This is an illegal practice that must be stopped immediately,” the minister said on his official Twitter account.

Velázquez’s statements came after several public transport users in Bogota denounced the presence of members Army implement this recruitment model throughout Colombia.

Heidi Sánchez, Bogota’s advisor from the Colombian Humanitarian Patriotic Union, who sent a letter to the minister with a statement on the matter, welcomed the message of protecting the rights of the country’s youth.

“These statements will bring peace of mind. Young people will no longer be afraid of meeting with the military and afraid of being taken to military service, but will be able to travel with peace of mind and follow the established procedure. law,” he said in statements compiled by Caracol Radio.

Petro announces changes to the police

Colombian President Gustavo Petro assured of a deep “transformation” of the police, questioning the bloody crackdown on protests and their effectiveness in the fight against drugs in the country.

Petro issued several warnings to the troops during the ceremony of transferring command to the new head of department.

“We face more difficult problems than the problems of the old security doctrine based on the false belief that there is an internal enemy in Colombia (…) There is no internal enemy in Colombian society,” the president said.

Peter hinted in these terms at the militaristic approach which, according to him, guided the police and which he always reproached.

Colombia seeks peace with the National Liberation Army

Colombia’s high commissioner for peace, Ivan Danilo Rueda, announced last Friday that his country would take the necessary steps to resume peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN).

Rueda made the announcement in Havana, where he traveled with Colombian Foreign Minister Alvaro Leiva to explore the possibility of resuming negotiations with the ELN.

“Both sides agree on the need to start a process of dialogue” to demonstrate the “real will” of the Colombian government and the ANO to achieve a “full peace” that is “stable, lasting and sustainable,” he said.

The High Commissioner stressed that the Colombian government will take “all political and legal measures” to “guarantee the conditions” necessary for the resumption of negotiations.

(According to Europa Press and AFP)