Colombia's new president faces awkward questions over civilian murders

[Judi Lynn]

12.07.2010
Colombia's new president faces awkward questions over civilian murders

New Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos faces a difficult month before his inaugeration in August as the UN Human Rights Council is expected to hear allegations about his and his predecessor's role in civilian deaths.

Victory for Santos in Colombia's election runoff against rival Antanas Mockus, a former defense minister, may mean a new leader takes the reins but his presidency will mean an old scandal will continue to dog and haunt the country.

As Santos prepares to take over from out-going President Álvaro Uribe on August 7, his and his predecessor's names are expected to feature in hearings at the UN Human Rights Council this month on allegations relating to their roles in the illegal killings of civilians.

While serving in the Uribe administration as defense minister between 2006 and 2009, Santos was in charge of the military at a time when the Colombian army's alleged policy of murdering civilians in so-called "false positive" killings was at its height. It is alleged that army units killed civilians to artificially increase the number of combat fatalities in battles against rebel group the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

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