The little engine that could: Constitutional Court speaks out in favor of Petro and IACHR

The little engine that could: Constitutional Court speaks out in favor of Petro and IACHR
Apr 9, 2014 posted by Daniel E Freeman

The president of Colombia’s Constitutional Court announced that the national government should not have disobeyed the precautionary mandate from the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, which stated that Bogota’s ousted mayor should have stayed in office.



Gustavo Petro might just be Colombia’s little engine that could.

On the three week anniversary of President Juan Manuel Santos closing the door (as most thought) forever on hopes of former Bogota Mayor Petro shaking the label of “former,” there appears to be a light at the end of the long dark tunnel for the former guerrilla-turned politician.

Luis Vargas, president of Colombia’s Constitutional Court said Wednesday evening that he believes that the government led by President Santos was wrong in disobeying a precautionary mandate from the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) to stop Petro’s dismissal from office.

Vargas spoke out saying that the measures issued by the IACHR are linked to the Colombian judicial system, and that ignoring the organization now could lead to serious problems in the future, according to El Espectador newspaper.

Broken down, the judicial president said that parties were confusing the “precautionary measure” or “precautionary mandate” of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights — the mandate that demanded the suspension of the dismissal of Petro — which was issued just under three weeks ago, with rulings of the related Inter-American Court of Human Rights, which is located in Costa Rica rather than Washington, DC. He asserted that many were disregarding the precautionary measure as not obligatory and just a suggestion.

More:
http://colombiareports.co/little-engine-constitutional-court-speaks-favor-petro-iachr/