But the ceremony was not a pleasant experience for the former leaders, since tens of activists were waiting for them with signs showing blooded hands and photos of disappeared people in Colombia, while chanting “Uribe and Aznar, you should be held responsible”, or “ Aznar and Uribe, you fasicists are the terrorists”, according to Spanish newspaper Nueva Tribuna.

The demonstrators demanded that Uribe and Aznar be taken before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, for their crimes against humanity.

“We can´t let a criminal who has violated Human Rights to receive an award”, said Tom Kucharz, member of Ecologistas en Accion with reference to Uribe, according to Nueva Tribuna. Kucharz also said that the Spanish government shouldn´t be an “accomplice” of the former Colombian President.

Also this week, human rights organizations in Colombia sued Uribe before a Court in Madrid for spying members of non governmental organizations in Spain through his intelligence agency, DAS.

The legal complaint includes former Director of the agency, Jorge Noguera, who led the DAS from 2002 to 2006, and former officer German Villalba Chavez. According to the plaintiffs, Uribe´s administration considered civil society organizations as “targets in a political war”.

Also, in June, 2010, several Colombian and European organizations urged the European Parliament to investigate similar espionage acts against activists by the DAS in Europe.

Photo: http://www.prensarural.org/