The Colombian government Wednesday expressed surprise for the arrest order issued by a provincial tribunal against President Alvaro Uribe and two ministers in a salary dispute with the government.
"The judges, seeking a salary rise, have ordered the arrest of the president and his ministers," Treasury Minister Oscar Zuluaga told the press.
Superior Tribunal of Sincelejo, capital of the northern province of Sucre, ordered a three-day arrest of Uribe, Zuluaga and Interior and Justice Minister Fabio Valencia.
The judges of the Superior Tribunal of Sincelejo accused Uribe, Zuluaga and Valencia of failure to follow a February rule which ordered to redress the salary of 148 judicial workers, including judges.
Zuluaga said officials in the judicial sectors demanded the salary adjustment based on salary revision for magistrates and their assistants in 1998, but the law did not oblige a rise in their income.
The arrest order against Uribe, Zuluaga and Valencia will only be effective if it is ratified by the Supreme Court of Justice.
Around 42,000 judicial workers in Colombia participated in a strike the same day for better pay.
Colombia adjusts the salary level every year according to inflation and economic conditions.
Source:Xinhua
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