Colombian President Alvaro Uribe praised his government's 'Democratic Security' policy when addressing Congress Monday on the first day of its final legislative year.
According to the President, Colombian citizens have become more outspoken and critical, because of the increased security in the country and the dismantling of paramilitarism.
"Society is safer, but rightly so, more demanding. Before, a crime, a kidnapping, was just one more, covered by the collective numbness that prevented reaction. This day, fortunately, it is moving itself," Uribe said.
The President insisted that Colombia no longer has paramilitary forces and Colombia's security forces and justice now only is facing "guerrilla terrorism and criminal gangs."
According to Uribe, his government had been able to "re-establish justice throughout the territory."
The President reiterated the success of applying the basic principles of his policy; confidence and security and stressed that the "sustainability of this policy depends on its credibility, which in turn depends on effectiveness and transparancy. The latter gives moral authority to produce results."
Uribe asked Colombians to trust and support the country's military, that has been the center of a large scale investigation into allegedly widespread and systematic killing of civilians, stressing that the army is rejecting the criminal behavior of some of its members. However, the President again stressed the armed forces are victim of "false accusations, with which some play to weaken security."
Monday was the opening of the last parliamentary year of the current Congress. Elections for a new one will be held in May 2010.
