The participation at the peace talks of FARC guerrilla leader “Simon Trinidad”- currently incarcerated in a U.S. jail will depend on the International Courts said the UN according to media reports Tuesday.
Todd Howland, a delegate from the UN in Colombia said that the participation of “Simon Trinidad” in the dialogues with the Colombian Government depended on the International Criminal Court and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Ricardo Palmera alias “Simon Trinidad” is currently serving a 60-year sentence in the U.S. for conspiracy and kidnapping. The FARC leader was also allegedly involved in the 2002 murder of a young boy accused of being an informant for the army. According to reports the child’s body, stuffed with explosives and gift-wrapped, was then delivered to Colombian police.
“The Inter-American Court and the International Court of Justice are entities that intervene when there are violations of human rights. They will take jurisdiction and this complicates the processes a little,” said Howland according to Radio Caracol.
“It is impossible to pardon or amnesty to the demobilized FARC resulting from the peace process,” said the UN delegate, “because their actions are not permitted by the treaties for the protection and defense of human rights which have been signed internationally.”
Last week, in response to the FARC request that “Simon Trinidad,” be one of the FARC negotiators at the peace talks, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos said the “process has to realistic and this is very important for there are things that we can do and others we can’t.”
In his statement at the time, the Colombian president said that nothing had been mentioned about the releasing of the guerrilla chief in conversations with U.S. President Barack Obama.