Enrique Peña Nieto, the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party) 2012 presidential nominee, Tuesday denounced the case as "unsupportable." "The State and its chief executive have an enormous, indisputable responsibility to confront organized crime, and to safeguard public security, and they've done it," said Peña Nieto. "I don't agree with this case, I don't approve of it and I won't back it," added the candidate.
A spokesman for the international organization Human Rights Watch, Richard Dicker, said that if the case is to move forward, there will have to be "solid evidence" backing the complainants' allegations. Dicker noted yesterday that unless a "direct link between the highest level of (Mexican) officials" and the claims of war crimes can be proved, the case will fail. Just three weeks ago HRW reported that it had documented some instances of murder, kidnapping and torture committed by Mexico's armed forces during the five year old war against the drug cartels. But the organization did not allege that president Calderón or others in his administration have committed war crimes, as that term is generally defined in international law.
Santiago Creel, a National Action Party candidate seeking the PAN nomination in next year's presidential contest, was predictably critical of the criminal allegations. He said that he does not believe the ICC will accept the case for consideration. Another PAN functionary said that the charges were groundless, and characterized Calderón as the first president in Mexico's history to firmly confront organized crime. He said those behind the ICC case must "face the consequences." The Mexican government has threatened a counter legal action against the complainants but that appears highly remote, simply because there are no recognized legal remedies available in such an unusual situation.
The court's chief prosecutor said Tuesday that the preliminary investigation -- merely to determine whether the ICC will accept the case -- could take up to eight months. If it is accepted, full legal proceedings and a trial might last from two to four years, he added.
One of the primary proponents of The Hague litigation, John M. Ackerman, appears to be be trying to distance himself somewhat from the controversial case. In a CNN interview published Tuesday, he was quoted as follows: "We're not judging anybody, or declaring anybody guilty. We've simply turned over information to the ICC so they can decide whether to undertake an investigation." Ackerman holds degrees in political sociology from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and is a professor at Mexico City's National Autonomous University. He's often described as one of the "intellectuals" behind the war crimes charges against the Calderón government, of which he has been a frequent harsh critic in newspaper editorials and public comments.
Why the Los Angeles Times just doesn't get it
No comments:
Post a Comment