Paraguay bishops condemn terrorist attack that killed two police officers

Asunción, Paraguay, Sep 23, 2011 / 12:17 pm

The Bishops’ Conference of Paraguay strongly condemned a terrorist attack that took place in the province of Horqueta and left two national police officers dead.

The Sept. 21 attack was carried out by the terrorist group the Army of the Paraguayan People, which launched grenades at a police station in the town of Capitan Gimenez, north of the capital Asuncion.

It was the second attack in the province of Horqueta in less than a week, after a similar incident occurred on Sunday. No one was injured in the first attack.

Paraguay’s Minister of the Interior, Carlos Filizzola, said the army has been entrenched in the region for the past ten years and that there are signs the group is recruiting more members.

In their message, the bishops offered their closeness and solidarity to the families of the two policemen killed in the most recent attack. “Violence is unacceptable from every point of view. Nothing justifies attacking the lives of persons.”

The bishops said that what happened “in Horqueta shows, once again, the precariousness in which the National Police has to carry out its constitutional role and mission to ensure public security. This precariousness translates into a lack of infrastructure, equipping and appropriate training in order to confront organized criminals.”

“Violent actions by criminal groups, including the APP, in the northern region of the country is not new. However, the institutional measures adopted to reduce the resulting consequences have not been sufficient or adequate, the reason for which today we are lamenting the loss of human lives,” they added.

The bishops concluded with a call to Paraguayans to strengthen their values—especially respect for the sanctity of human life and the family—“which will allow the strengthening of the moral and social fabric of society as the best way to ensure safety for all.”