2024-09-20 14:23:33
President Gustavo Petro apologized for calling those who shout “Petro Out” “murderers,” but clarified his words.
In compliance with an order issued by the Fifth Section of the Council of State, the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, offered public apologies to citizens who have used the slogan “Petro Out” in political demonstrationsafter a court ruling determined that a previous statement by the president violated his fundamental rights. The controversy arose after Petro’s statements during the II General Assembly of the Colombia Humana Political Party, where he said that those who shouted “Petro Out” were “murderers,” which generated a series of legal actions by the protesters.
The Council of State evaluated the tutela actions filed by citizens who considered that the president’s statement violated their rights freedom of expression, protest, political participation and opposition. According to the ruling, the president’s phrase exceeded the acceptable limits of the right to freedom of opinion of public officials, since it was not based on valid evidence or justifications to link those who used the slogan “Petro Out” with the commission of homicides. The court also highlighted that the expression had a discriminatory nature, since it sought to exclude a sector of the population critical of the government, ethically and morally invalidating the reasons for their opposition.
In its decision, the Court made it clear that the expression used by President Petro was not protected under the spectrum of freedom of opinion. and that, on the contrary, it violated the fundamental guarantees of those who protested against him. As a result, the Council of State ordered the president to offer a public apology and publish it permanently on the official social networks of the Presidency of the Republic, as well as on his personal X.com account (@petrogustavo).
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In compliance with the court order, Gustavo Petro apologized through his social networks, stating: «People who shout ‘Petro Out’ are not murderers, sorry« However, the president also took the opportunity to contextualize his original statements, pointing out that his intention was not to address those who were protesting peacefully, but rather those who, in the past, used similar slogans to perpetrate massacres against left-wing movements in Colombia, such as the Patriotic Union (UP) and Gaitanism. «I did not call them murderers, but rather those who, with the same cry of finishing off the left and progressivism, carried out the massacre of the UP and Gaitanism in Colombia. Killing Petro is also a ‘Petro Out’“, the president added.
The president concluded his message by highlighting the importance of maintaining political debate in democratic spaces: “Political debate must take place in the squares and in parliament and not in the courts.”
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