Uribe edges towards autocracy (The Economist)

By The Economist
The EconomistMay 15 --- A popular president seems to be heading towards a third term, despite the damage this would do to democracy - The Economist -
May 15, 2009

... “No to re-election”, declared Semana, Colombia’s leading newsweekly (which has generally been critical of the president), on its cover this week. Its main argument was that the checks and balances in the constitution are designed for a four-year presidential term and that an erosion of the separation of powers under Mr Uribe would be aggravated by a third term.

Such worries are all the greater because Mr Uribe’s rule has not been free of abuses and scandals. These include the army murdering innocent civilians and disguising their corpses as guerrillas killed in combat. This prompted the government to sack 30 officers last October, including three generals. So far 22 soldiers, including three colonels, have been arrested over these crimes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights last year complained of “widespread and systematic” killings of civilians by the army. Prosecutors at the attorney-general’s office are investigating 1,296 such allegations since 2002.

The government insists that it is committed to ending and punishing such abuses, which it says are isolated. But its allies abroad seem to be becoming more sceptical. Mr Uribe enjoyed a close friendship with George Bush. The Democrats who control the American Congress have held up ratification of a free-trade agreement with Colombia, ostensibly because of worries about the killings of trade unionists. In March Britain announced that it was ending a scheme under which it trained Colombian soldiers in human rights (though it is maintaining counter-drug aid and giving money to civic groups and the judiciary). David Miliband, the foreign secretary, expressed concern that “there are officers and soldiers of the Colombian armed forces who have been involved in, or allowed, abuses.”

Another running sore involves the civilian intelligence service, known as DAS. Three successive directors of this body, each chosen by Mr Uribe, are being questioned by prosecutors over claims that DAS illegally spied on opposition politicians, journalists and Supreme Court justices. On May 8th the first of the three, Jorge Noguera, was charged with conspiracy and murder. He is accused of colluding with paramilitaries and helping to plan the murders of an academic, a journalist, a union leader and a politician ...

http://www.economist.com/world/americas/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13649375

Polo Democratico leader Carlos Gaviria proposed to his Liberal Party counterpart Cesar Gaviria to join forces to stop the second re-election of Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe.

"A second re-election of Colombia's current President would be deeply damaging to the country and, therefore, our parties should form a common front, in partnership with all political and social organizations that share our goal", the Polo head stated in an open letter to the Liberal.

He suggests a "formal meeting" between representatives of the two parties in order to draft an "action plan" ... http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/4040-polo-leader-wants-common-front-against-uribes-re-election.html

if they decide to unite against a 3rd election for Uribe. He's got a lot of nasty, vicious, brutal friends in both high AND low places. They can even chase down witnesses in witness protection programs all the way to remote places in Canada.

I have no idea whatever happened to the last witness they found in Canada who ran to the Canadian goverment for help when they started coming after him up there.

These ARE Uribe's "base."