| | |  News Around the Republic of Mexico | December 2009 
Senators Defend Army, Narco-War
 The News
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December 15, 2009
| | A newspaper stand offers El Debate de lo Calenturos newspaper with pictures of corpses on the back cover in the streets of Ciudad Altamirano, Guerrero state, Mexico on December 7. According to Reporters Without Borders, 57 journalists have been killed in Mexico since 2000 and 10 have gone missing. (AFP/Ronaldo Schemidt) | |
Several senators on Monday said there are no conditions, for now, to withdraw armed forces from the war on narco-trafficking, despite accusations from the Archdiocese of Mexico that the Army is violating human rights.
Manlio Fabio Beltrones, coordinator of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), said that "since the country lacks a modern and trained police force, and the federal government isn´t committed to making its civil forces efficient, sufficient and skilled, it would be an error to withdraw the Army from the streets."
Archdiocese spokesman Hugo Valdemar on Monday said that the federal government should suspend its war on narco-trafficking and look for alternatives in dealing with organized crime.
Valdemar, however, lamented that authorities lack the forces necessary to substitute the armed forces.
"And unfortunately, human rights are being violated," he said.
Public security committee president and National Action Party (PAN) Sen. Felipe González González said that his group has information that confirms that human rights violations complaints are being addressed.
Currently, there are 729 complaints being evaluated, and 2,235 have been investigated, dealt with and thrown out because of errors, González said. However, only 50 charges were closed and the accused soldiers were punished, he said.
González lamented the loss of life and resources in President Felipe Calderón´s three-year war, but blamed the situation on state and municipal police forces, who González said haven´t fulfilled their duty in sacking corrupt officers.
"I think that not even 20 percent of (police forces) have complied," González said. "Even though we removed the Army from the middle, I think that it´s due to the lack of responsibility...they still aren´t prepared and haven´t done their work in order to move this ahead, so I think we have quite a severe problem."
PAN Sen. Alejandro González Alcocer, president of the justice committee, said that now is not the time to remove soldiers from the streets, since there are no "trustworthy civil police."
"I think that the Army has done its duty," Alcocer said. "It´s desirable that they leave as soon as possible, but who knows when that will happen. I don´t."
Even some leftist senators agreed. Tomás Torres Mercado, of the Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), said that withdrawing forces could exacerbate the situation.
"Taking them off the streets is a process. There needs to be an evaluation and a time limit established, but only when police have advanced and become more professional," Torres said.
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