Doubts raised about Colombia's new reparations law

 The newly approved law on reparations for victims of decades of violence in Colombia raises a host of questions, particularly about how beneficiaries will be defined and how the government will finance the scheme.

Colombia's Senate on Tuesday ratified the Victim and Restitution of Lands Law, which would compensate for and return usurped property to those subject to armed violence since 1985.

The government estimates that 4 million hectares of land were abandoned and 2 million seized during the armed conflicts.

Under the law, financial compensation will be awarded to victims of the conflicts, and the land returned to former owners. The government says at least 4 million people will benefit.

The costs of implementing the law will be the main challenge for the government. Officials estimate put the costs at 2.2 trillion pesos (1.2 billion U.S. dollars) for this year alone.

"This year the 2.2 trillion pesos will be taken mainly from taxes... Next year, we'll see if cutting other spending or looking at other sources is needed." Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry said.

The new law stipulates that any compensation is subject to availability of resources, which observers say would leave reparations for victims in suspense.

As the government lacks adequate funding to compensate for the costs of reparations, millions of Colombians may be actually denied access to the scheme and would remain in dire need of capital to undertake activities enabling them to regain economic stability, observers say.

Cepeda Castro, a congressman from the opposition Polo Democratico Alternativo party, told Xinhua that the government, instead of calculating on taxpayers' money, should to pursue and confiscate the assets illegally and violently seized by some people.

Millions of Colombians have fallen victim to decades of armed violence, while many others are living a comfortable life with their ill-gotten fortunes.

Castro said a case in point is demobilized paramilitary squads, accused of making large fortunes through the drug trade and plundering of productive land. They didn't deliver the fortunes to the state after laying down their weapons, he said.

Another controversial issue concerning the law is who exactly are entitled to reparations and restitution.

Marco Romero, president of the nongovernmental Consultancy for Human Rights and Displacement, described the range of potential beneficiaries as "limited," as compensation will only go to those who have suffered assaults between 1985 and the day the law goes into effect.

Many violence victims would not benefit from the law, as conflict in the country started as early as 1964, when the anti-government Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was established, Romero said.

Moreover, he said, according to the law, only property illegally grabbed after 1991 should be returned to their legal owners.

That would in fact legalize illegal seizure of land and other kinds of property made prior to 1991, he added.

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