Colombia weighs plan to aid victims of conflict

Bogota, Agencias
President Juan Manuel Santos presented Monday to Congress an ambitious bill that seeks reparations for more than 4 million victims of Colombia's decades-long armed conflict, regardless of whether those who inflicted the violence were leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitaries or state agents.

The bill includes measures such as health care and education, humanitarian aid to deal with new cases of violence, and the restitution of lands.

"This will be the road map for carrying out comprehensive reparations...social, economic, psychological and symbolic...for close to 4 million displaced persons and victims of other crimes stemming from the violence," Santos said in presenting the bill.

The head of state added that 40 trillion pesos ($22.1 billion) have already been set aside to aid victims and provide them with compensation.

"There are close to 1 million Colombian families that have suffered the devastation of this national drama, and - pay attention now because this is very important - our basic proposition is that the victims will be given the chance to put their lives back together. That is the backbone of the law," he said.

"We will not discriminate against any victim!" the president said with reference to a previous bill that did not include the victims of crimes committed by state agents and which was blocked in Congress during the 2002-2010 government of Alvaro Uribe.

That and the amount of money required were the main problems the previous government objected to when a similar bill came up for approval, considering it an "irreparable" blow to state finances.

Santos said in that regard that "national unity" is essential, and considered that this project "has been a true exercise in dialogue, agreement, and unity around something that is fundamental."

Members of rebel or paramilitary groups will not be considered victims, nor will their families.

The victims will also have the right to seek justice and it will be the government's duty to carry out effective investigations that lead to the identification, capture, trial and punishment of the guilty parties.

Also to be designed will be a system of registering and checking on the victims and recipients of reparations, in order to design a comprehensive policy for serving them. Colombia's vice president will administer the plan.