My American friends, it’s time to take yet another lesson from Venezuela. This one, in particular, may interest you…
Venezuelan prosecutors have summoned former President Jaime Lusinchi to appear in court next month to face accusations in the 1986 killings of nine people.
The attorney general’s office said in a statement Friday that Lusinchi has been called to appear in court on April 1 “for presumably being linked to the act.”
It said 13 other former officials from his government are also being summoned.
The killings in the western town of Yumare on May 8, 1986, were carried out by security forces. The interior minister at the time, Octavio Lepage, described it as a clash with guerrillas — remnants of leftist rebel bands that largely had put down their weapons by the early 1970s.
But critics have since said evidence suggests the victims were executed without a fight.
Prosecutors reopened the case in 2006 after a court accepted pleas from the victims’ families.
[…]
Venezuela is also seeking the extradition of former President Carlos Andres Perez, who is living in the United States, to face accusations of abuses committed by security forces during bloody street protests in 1989. Perez also faces separate charges of embezzlement.
So, what are YOU doing about your bad past presidents? And past-presidents-to-be? There are plenty of war criminals among them. Shouldn’t they be prosecuted for crimes against humanity? Or is that just for OTHER countries?
Hmmm, maybe it’s time to think again about joining the International Criminal Court, yes? Because there is one in particular I would so LOVE to see in The Hague.
