Colombia rules out recall of scandal-hit congress

Colombian Interior Minister Calos Holguin on Monday rejected a proposal by opposition senator, Gustavo Petro, to recall the nation's legislature, the congress, after a political crisis triggered by the arrest of eight legislators.

"In moments of crisis, institutions need to work well, and that is why I am against Petro's initiative," Holguin told Colombia Radio Channel, adding that criminal responsibility for the alleged links of particular legislators to illegal groups should be shouldered by the individuals, and should not affect congress.

Alvaro Araujo, Mauricio Pimiento, Dieb Maloof, Luis Eduardo Vives and Alfonso Campo, all legislators who back the ruling party, were arrested by police on Thursday. The country's foreign minister, Maria Consuelo Araujo,sister of Alvaro Araujo, resigned on Monday saying that she wished to be by her brother's side.

A total of eight legislators have been arrested, after police interrogated more than 30.

The so-called "para-politica" scandal implicates a large number of right-wing legislators, suggesting that their political campaigns were financed by the Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) and that they may have diverted state funds to the AUC, a 31,000-strong militia organization that has been disbanding in a demobilization process since 2003 after negotiating with current president, Alvaro Uribe.

Holguin proposed that all Colombian parties come together to promote an accord to define rules and procedures to avoid the infiltration of the legislature by people linked to illegal armed groups or criminal activities, and called for the congress to move forward, despite the problems.

Source: Xinhua