The Diplomat
As reported by The Diplomat on Friday 17 October, a public act of extrajudicial recognition was held in the Clara Campoamor Chamber of the Congress of Deputies of Spain for the Acts of Illegal Persecution against Human Rights Defenders and Colombian victims in Exile, that were documented by the Truth Commission in the case called Espionage and illegal operations of the DAS in Europe.
During the event, an excited Eduardo Ávila Navarrete, Ambassador of Colombia spoke these words: “I really want to express to you that I feel a pleasant emotion for being the ambassador of Colombia who today recognizes the victims of the Colombian State so that never again injustice is imposed on life, freedom or speech. The so-called Operation Europe of the Administrative Department for Security DAS was one of the darkest pages in our recent institutional history. The Truth Commission documented how more than a dozen countries, including Spain, France, Belgium, Sweden, Germany and Italy, were scenes of these persecutions”.
“They were not paranoia of exile, the Colombian ambassador continued, they were real, planned and systematic. They not only damaged individual lives, but also affected the social and associative fabric that worked for a Colombia from a distance. Today, the Colombian State publicly assumes its responsibility and recognizes the damage caused by a State that wants to look at its history, learn from its mistakes and embrace those who were forced to leave. Truth, justice, reparation and non-repetition. For memory, dignity and life.”
The event was also attended by the director of human rights and international humanitarian law of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Nelson Restrepo.
According to the report of the Truth Commission, “the operations of the DAS (Administrative Department for Security) were developed over two periods, the first in 2004 to 2006, where actions were directed specifically by the group called G3 -Special Intelligence Group 3, dissolved in 2005-, but in which the DAS was an institution at the service of this whole plan of persecution, and about which there is procedural evidence. The second moment occurred between 2009 and 2010, when the investigation by the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation into these practices came to light, both in Colombia and on the international stage”.
