Amid the controversy created by the bill announced by Senator Iván Cepeda, which he will eventually withdraw to make changes, the head of the Prosecutor’s Office of Colombia said that peace cannot be an argument against the Constitution.
The Attorney General of the Nation, Francisco Barbosa, in dialogue with La W, assured that the search for peace, considered a fundamental right covered by the Constitution, cannot be a reason to legitimize the violation of others such as freedom of expression in Colombia.
He also pointed out that no one is weighing the rights of peace and freedom of expression, because both are legitimate and should happen in a democratic State.
“Here there is no argument that can be built around the ongoing peace processes to violate an opinion or even democracy around these issues of collective and public construction.”
Barbosa added that, “no one has balanced the right to peace with the right to freedom of expression, which in fact enjoys greater protection than any other right in the Political Constitution.”
He also assured that, under the argument of the search for peace, one cannot replace the public force with criminals or try to send journalists or former officials to prison who doubt the truth in a country like Colombia.
“In that sense, you cannot take the articles of the constitution, although they say that peace is a right and a duty of mandatory obedience, to say that, in the name of peace I replaced the Army with criminals, in the name of peace I will retire. the public force in the areas of the national territory and in the name of peace I will send journalists to prison or I will send former officials to prison, it cannot be done.”
The head of the investigative entity assured that the bill filed by Senator Iván Cepeda before the Congress of the Republic is null, which he also pointed out as unconstitutional, because of the opposition to freedom of expression and democracy.
Likewise, he pointed out that, if this bill was submitted by the governments of Iván Duque, Juan Manuel Santos, Álvaro Uribe and Andrés Pastrana, with the article that says “anyone who prevents, restricts, restricts, explores the beginning, progress. and completion of the peace process carried out by the National Government with criminal organizations, he has 15 years in prison,” he said that if this had happened “we would not have been able to talk even in Havana Peace Agreement.”
Barbosa assured that even for former president Juan Manuel Santos, he will consider that public opinion is necessary to create a process that is discussed but important.
“They want a society that thinks in one way and there one cannot submit theses and the debate is no longer about freedom of expression but whether we are in a democracy or we will not continue in a democracy ,” he said. expressed.
