Colombian army ignores court, continues to recruit soldiers in forbidden raids .
Colombian army ignores court, continues to recruit soldiers in forbidden raids .
Friday, 08 March 2013 07:02 Adriaan Alsema
The Colombian army is forcibly recruiting young men during raids in Medellin, ignoring the country's Constitutional Court which has deemed the controversial practice illegal.
The forced drafting of Colombians who are unable to show a paper that exempts them from military service was deemed unconstitutional in 2011, but according to Medellin's ombudsman, locals, Colombia Reports' own observations, court rulings and the responsible army commander himself, the 4th Recruitment Zone is openly ignoring this ruling and continues to carry out the forbidden raids.
The raids are carried out in crowded public spaces like metro exits where the chances of detaining a person who has failed to comply with his military duty or has failed to obtain an exemption paper are highest.
According to the Medellin Ombudsman's Office, the Army's 4th Recruitment Zone has "systematically" ignored the law by conducting these raids in public places.
More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/28443-colombian-army-ignores-court-continues-to-recruit-soldiers-in-controversial-raids.html
The Colombian military has been heavily fianced by "contributions" from U.S. taxpayers annually in enormous buttloads of their hard-earned dollars.
