The Movimiento Nacional de Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado (MOVICE) (National Movement of Victims of State Crimes) has painted the mural “¿Quién dio la orden?” (“Who gave the order?”) on several occasions, which identifies several members of the military responsible for human rights violations currently under investigation by the Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (JEP) (Special Jurisdiction for Peace). Military officers Marcos Evangelista Pinto Lizarazo and Mario Montoya Uribe, filed a tutela petition against MOVICE arguing that the mural damaged their good name, honor, and right to due process. In August 2021, the Constitutional Court considered that the mural is a protected form of expression based on reliable sources of information.
The mural “¿Quién dio la orden?” (“Who gave the order?”) identifies several members of the military for their links to 5,763 extrajudicial executions, investigated by the Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (JEP) (Special Jurisdiction for Peace) in the macrocase 03 regarding the so-called “false positives”, and within the framework of the #CampañaPorLaVerdad (#CampaignForTheTruth).
The first version of the mural, which was erected on October 18, 2019, was taken down by members of the army’s 13th Brigade. In this mural, the faces of military officers Juan Carlos Barrera, Adolfo León Hernández, Mario Montoya, Nicacio Martínez, and Marcos Pinto were shown as those responsible for the murders. The second version of the mural was erected on September 30, 2020, and depicts seven more members of the military (Fabricio Cabrera, Diego Tamayo, Miguel Bastidas, Juan Carlos Barrera, Adolfo León Hernández, Mario Montoya, Nicacio de Jesús Martínez, Marcos Pinto, Juan Pablo Rodríguez, Publio Hernán Mejía, Henry Torres Escalante, and José Cortés).
Marcos Pinto filed a tutela request claiming that the mural tarnished his good name, and on February 25, 2020, the 13th Court of Bogota ordered MOVICE to remove the mural within 48 hours. MOVICE argued that the mural had already been censored by the Army and that it was already part of societal heritage and it was out of its control to stop its circulation since its content had gone viral on social media and in the media. They also pointed out that the ruling disregarded the rights of the victims and society in general to the truth, freedom of expression, and memory, adding, moreover, that the information on the mural has been acknowledged in court rulings and in the case before the JEP.
In March 2021, as part of the Día Nacional de la Dignidad de las Víctimas de Crímenes de Estado (National Day for the Dignity of the Victims of State Crimes), the collective Madres Falsos Positivos de Colombia (Mothers of the False Positives of Colombia) and other victim defense movements repainted the mural “Who gave the order?” in Bogotá near the José María Córdoba Military Cadet School, updating the number of extrajudicial executions reported by the JEP to 6,402. And once again, only two days later, it was vandalized and the faces of the military officers that were shown were blotted out.
On August 23, 2021, the Constitutional Court considered that the mural is a protected form of expression based on reliable sources of information.
In Colombia, between 2002 and 2008, the execution of civilians by army brigades was a common practice. As Human Rights Watch documented in its report On Their Watch: Evidence of Senior Army Officers’ Responsibility for False Positive Killings in Colombia, soldiers and officers, under pressure to produce results in the war against the guerrillas, murdered innocent civilians in order to count them as combat casualties.
This case is before the Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (Special Jurisdiction for Peace) as Case 03, and is titled “Killings and forced disappearances presented as combat casualties by State agents.” With the number of victims in the country increasing to 6,402, JEP reported on February 18, 2021, that 78% of the total number of victims in the country were concentrated between 2002 and 2008, followed by a drastic drop in 2009. JEP also indicated that 66% of the cases were concentrated in 10 departments.
- MOVICE, Mural ‘¿Quién dio la orden?’ ya es patrimonio de la sociedad: Movice (25 February 2020)
- Pacifista, Cero y van tres: destruyen el mural recién instalado de ¿Quién dio la orden? en Bogotá (06 October 2020)
- Colectivo de Abogados, JEP reconoce la magnitud de los “falsos positivos” Son más de 6.000 casos, las víctimas tenían razón (18 February 2021)
- El País, Un mural protegido por la Constitución (11 November 2021)
- El País, “Mi mamá también fue un ‘falso positivo’ del Ejército colombiano” (24 February 2021)
Individual Contributors
Hacen parte del Proyecto Colombia Nunca Más: Asociación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos de Colombia –ASFADDES-, Colectivo de Abogados “José Alvear Restrepo» –CAJAR-, Comisión Intercongregacional de Justicia y Paz, Fundación Comité de Solidaridad con los Presos Políticos –CSPP-, Comité Permanente por la Defensa de los Derechos Humanos –CPDH-, Comisión Interfranciscana de Justicia, Paz y Reverencia con la Creación, Corporación Sembrar, Comité Regional de Derechos Humanos de Santander –CREDHOS-, Fundación Reiniciar, Colectivo de Derechos Humanos Semillas de Libertad –CODEHSEL-, Corporación Jurídica Libertad, Comunidades Eclesiales de Base y Grupos Cristianos de Colombia –CEBS-, Humanidad Vigente Corporación Jurídica, Fundación Manuel Cepeda, Asociación Nacional de Usuarios Campesinos Unidad y Reconstrucción –ANUC UR-, Asociación Nacional de Ayuda Solidaria –ANDAS- y la Comunidad de los Misioneros Claretianos de Colombia.