O U R  A M E R I C A

Havana.  August 22, 2013

Colombia: peace has never come this far

Sergio Alejandro Gómez

THE peace process underway in Havana to end 50-plus years of armed conflict in Colombia, continues showing hopeful signs, despite heavy pressure being placed upon it by ultra-right forces in the country.

After reaching the end of a new round of negotiations on August 10, delegations from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-Army of the People (FARC-EP) and the government of Juan Manuel Santos announced that they had begun to “build agreements” on political participation, the second of six points established in the General Agreement for an end to the conflict.

This news, in addition to the agreement reached on the complex land issue, constitutes a new landmark in the turbulent history of the search for peace in this country; formally initiated in the 1980’s during the government of Belisario Betancur and which subsequently continued in those of César Gaviria (1990-1994) and Andrés Pastrana (1998-2002).

“Never has peace come so far,” affirmed on August 10 the leader of the government delegation, ex-Vice president Humberto de la Calle.

Previous peace processes did not result in concrete pacts on issues of such caliber as the agrarian problem. In terms of political participation, the major reference is the Uribe Agreements (named after the municipality of the same name in which they were signed) with Betancur in 1984, which gave rise to the founding of the Unión Patriótica (UP), a political party comprising demobilized guerrillas. However, their reach was diluted by the subsequent mass extermination of its members, on an unknown scale but which went into the thousands.

THE GATEWAY TO POLITICS

For close to two months the Havana talks have focused on the issue of political participation.

As the FARC-EP has reiterated, this is not just about becoming members of the traditional political structure, but about making necessary transformations and building the conditions for taking this step.

The FARC-EP has made public a series of “minimum proposals” in relation to this point. The outstanding elements include full guarantees of security for the exercise of political and social opposition; institutional changes; participation in the Electoral National Council; an effective state commitment to eradicate and proscribe paramilitary groups; measures for comprehensive reparations in relation to the genocide against the UP and other opposition forces; and the democratization of ownership of the communications media.

For its part, the government delegation has been emphatic in that the state is not being negotiated and “the essence of the end to the conflict is none other than breaking the link between politics and arms.”

“And the FARC, if they make the transition to a legal political movement as we hope, requires special guarantees, as has been the case in all negotiation processes in the world.

THE ENEMIES OF PEACE

Achieving peace is a long-held desire of the Colombian people supported by the constitution in effect since 1991. However, more than a few powerful sectors are opposed to an end to the conflict, which moves billions of dollars.

During recent weeks, Juan Manuel Santos has pointed to the environment of former President Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010), as the promoter of a campaign to delegitimize the peace talks and cause enmity with neighboring countries such as Venezuela, an observer country in the process.

“There are those who would prefer more years of conflict, more years of pain and death, to the possibility of peace,” stated Santos on August 7, without mentioning names, during the commemorative event for the Battle of Boyacá.

The ultra-right strategy comes at a point when the Santos government is in its final year and seeks to limit his reelection possibilities. The leader has not yet officially announced his intention to run for a second term in office, but has indicated that he is interested in “reelecting his policies.”