Letter from Colombian Presidency to Colombian human rights NGOs, December 31, 2003

Letter from Colombian Presidency to Colombian human rights NGOs, December 31, 2003
[Date stamp] Dec. 31, 2003
24684

Messrs. Nelson Berrio, et al.
Calle 72 No. 12-65 - 7th floor
Bogota

Dear Sir:

On the instructions of the President of the Republic, I acknowledge receipt of your right of petition set forth in your letter of December 19, 2003, in which you ask the President to rectify the accusations made in his speech last September 8 against the good name of the social, peace, and human rights organizations that you represent and the honor of their members, or, failing that, to specify which organizations he considers to be included in the alleged third category of critics of the Government, and what evidence there is of the conduct imputed to them.

Additionally, you request that the rectification be made with the same coverage as the September 8, 2003 speech, that is, that it be of similar duration to the speech and be transmitted on all the national channels in the "triple A schedule," in accordance with the provisions of Article 20 of the Constitution, and Article 42, Numeral 7 of Decree 2591 of 1991.

In this regard, I am writing to inform you that the messages addressed by the President of the Republic on September 8 and 11, 2003, in public acts, are the expression of the political opinion of the President who, as Head of State and Head of Government, is authorized by the Constitution to do this, that is, to serve as inspiration to Colombians, or merely to create public opinion of a general nature, as one called by the constituent to lead or govern a country or, as one who symbolizes national unity, which is the same thing. (Articles 188 and 189 of the Political Constitution)

This assertion is corroborated by case law of the Constitutional Court, as indicated in ruling C-1172/01, as follows:

"The President of the Republic is empowered to lead the country at any time, guaranteeing to the citizens not only information about events of public interest, but also the official position on them, which allows for the formation of free public opinion, inasmuch as the citizenry is learning from the one who has the constitutional duty to inform them about events, incidents or decisions of national interest, as well as the official position of the government on these matters, which guarantees the right of the citizenry to have broad and adequate information, so that they may form their own convictions as well as participate in the discussion relative to such public matters as may concern them."

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". . . the political and legal-constitutional responsibility of one who symbolizes national unity and is obligated, by swearing to uphold the Constitution and the law, to guarantee the rights and liberties of all Colombians (Art. 188 of the Political Constitution), it is clear that he must inform them in a truthful manner about events of national interest, as indicated by the mandate contained in Article 20 of the Political Constitution, and that such information must be timely and objective. (C-1172/01)

In keeping with the foregoing, it is worth specifying that the President's messages to Colombians in no way ignore the fundamental rights of social, human rights or peace organizations, as your letter appears to insinuate. As has been shown, that is part of the legitimate exercise of the political power of the Head of State and [the Head] of Government and of the one who constitutionally symbolizes the unity of a nation. For this reason, there is no need for rectification.

Finally, as you inform us that you have not received a reply to a right of petition by the Office of the Vice President of the Republic and the Director of the Human Rights Program of this entity, this Secretariat arranged for the transfer of your petition, for their information and appropriate purposes.

Sincerely yours,

[signed]
ARMANDO LÓPEZ CORTES
Legal Secretary (E)

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