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El anuncio unilateral de las FARC, justo en el día en que se iniciaba la segunda fase de las conversaciones de paz con el gobierno en La Habana, tomó por sorpresa al país: habrá una tregua navideña entre el 20 de noviembre y el 20 de enero, tiempo durante el que el grupo guerrillero promete no realizar ninguna clase de “operaciones militares ofensivas contra las fuerzas públicas” o “actos de sabotaje contra la infraestructura pública o privada”. Este anuncio significa en la práctica que las FARC pararán la escalada de ataques que venían realizando en Chocó, Valle y Cauca—paro armado, cilindros bomba y explosión en fiesta de Halloween incluidos, con un saldo de 47 muertos y 83 heridos—poblaciones donde es un eufemismo seguir llamando daños colaterales a las múltiples víctimas civiles que dejan los enfrentamientos entre ilegales y fuerzas armadas en contextos donde nadie respeta el Derecho Internacional Humanitario. También significa que disminuirán el asedio a poblaciones como Arauca y Norte de Santander donde los trabajadores de los oleoductos tienen cada vez menos libertades de movimiento por temor a ser secuestrados.
Probará además si la cadena de mando que hoy tiene a los máximos representantes de las FARC en la Habana—Iván Márquez a la cabeza—es capaz de controlar a sus cerca de 8 mil hombres distribuidos en cinco bloques y dos comandos conjuntos en todo el país, y si cuentan con suficientes métodos de verificación para probar el éxito de la tregua que como anuncio le sienta muy bien el país, y deja a las FARC con una ventaja política importante en las negociaciones. Aunque sorpresivo, el comunicado de Iván Márquez también recuerda que entre los negociadores guerrilleros hay una fuerte presencia de “estrategas” políticos, al punto de que varios de ellos hacían trabajo militante de base, no tenían un bloque al mando, o incluso no estaban en el país combatiendo como es el caso de Marcos León Calarcá que encabeza la Comisión Internacional de las FARC desde la década de los 80.
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Shortly before resuming peace negotiations with the Colombian government in Havana on Monday, Ivan Marquez—the lead negotiator for the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC)—declared a ceasefire, halting all offensive military operations and acts of sabotage against infrastructure.
The ceasefire began at midnight and is expected to last until January 20, 2013, and will “strengthen the climate of understanding necessary so that the parties that are starting the dialogue achieve the purpose desired by all Colombians," says Marquez. The Colombian government has publicly pledged to continue battling the FARC until a peace agreement has been signed and has not commented on Monday’s announcement.
The peace talks, which were postponed for four days due to “technical details,” resumed on Monday, a month after they officially commenced in Oslo. The negotiations will focus primarily on land reform, an issue that the FARC claims has been at the center of the 50-year conflict. The two parties are also set to discuss the formal end to the armed conflict, the political future of the FARC, guarantees for the exercise of political opposition and citizen participation, drug trafficking, and the rights of the victims of the war. Norway and Cuba are mediating the peace talks while Chile and Venezuela act as “acompañantes” to help with logistics and provide diplomatic support.
The end game of the talks is for the FARC to lay down their arms and to negotiate the integration of its troops into Colombia’s mainstream society and political system. The ceasefire is seen as a positive sign that the rebel group is serious about gaining political legitimacy and ending the conflict. Though the Colombian government remains wary of the group’s commitment to peace, analysts believe that this latest move puts pressure on President Juan Manuel Santos’ administration to reciprocate.
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Lejos de la selva, y de la imagen de la silla vacía que el expresidente Andrés Pastrana miraba de reojo aquel día en que el fallecido comandante de las FARC Manuel Marulanda—alias Tirofijo—no se apareció a instalar los diálogos de paz, gobierno y Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) vuelven a sentarse en una mesa.
Esta vez a las afueras de Oslo, Noruega, en un ambiente con aire diplomático, encorbatados, llegando a un epílogo de una serie de conversaciones y encuentros que se hicieron con la discresión de la que se careció años atrás. Con un acuerdo ya firmado sobre los temas a tratar en la negociación, con el rol definido y clave de los garantes (Cuba y Noruega) y de los acompañantes (Venezuela y Chile), y con voceros únicos.
Y a pesar de toda la filigrana, válida y necesaria, lo que pasó este jueves en Oslo demostró lo que la sociedad tiene que entender a la hora de opinar sobre el proceso. En la mesa están sentadas dos visiones de país, dos enemigos, que literalmente se han dado bala por siglos, uno de los cuales se alzó en armas frente al otro con una idea de rebelión marxista que culminó en 50 años de lucha, alimentada por el terror, el secuestro y el narcotráfico, mientras el otro le respondía desde la legalidad con su aparato armado, y también con sumas de ejércitos ilegales que exterminaron a la Unión Patriótica cuando las FARC quisieron hacer política.
Y es por esa diferencia y esa enemistad, que lo importante para una parte puede no serlo para la otra, y que el éxito en la negociación está en manejar las declaraciones y las respuestas con cautela sobre todo ante los medios de comunicación.
La negociación tendrá tres fases: la exploratoria que ya surtió efectos con la firma de un primer acuerdo; la segunda que comenzó ayer para avanzar en los temas contenidos en ese primer acuerdo; y la tercera de implementación de lo negociado.
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After a half-century of armed conflict, representatives of the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC) convened in Norway to inaugurate a new round of peace talks today.
The groups have been engaged in conflict since the 1960s, and for the first time the two sides will be present in a public meeting. Past attempts to secure peace have successfully demobilized about 37,000 paramilitary and guerrilla members, but have failed to negotiate a peace agreement with the FARC or with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (National Liberation Army—ELN).
Despite last minute changes to the FARC negotiating team—such as the addition of Dutch combatant Tanja Nijmeijer as a spokesperson—Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has expressed “moderate optimism” about the process.
On the Colombian side, the chief government negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, and peace commissioner Sergio Jaramillo have confirmed the Colombian government’s decision of not implementing a ceasefire until a final peace agreement is achieved. “If I see that there's no progress, that they are simply trying to buy time, I will stand up and continue business as usual,” Santos has said.
On the FARC side, Luciano Marín Arango—the number two of the armed group known as "Iván Márquez"—will be their most important negotiator at the table. He will be joined by peace negotiators Rodrigo Granda, alias "Ricardo Téllez"; Jesús Emilio Carvajalino, alias "Andrés París"; Luis Alberto Albán, alias "Marcos León Calarcá"; and Juvenal Ricardo Ovidio Palmera, alias "Simón Trinidad", who is serving a 60-year sentence in the United States for conspiracy and kidnapping.
Chile and Venezuela will act as “acompañantes” to help with logistics and provide diplomatic support. If successful, future rounds of the negotiation will continue in Havana, Cuba. The Colombian government hopes the ELN will also join the process.
Extra: Read AQ’s exclusive interview with Sergio Fajardo Valderrama, governor of Colombia’s Antioquia state, on his views and expectations of the peace process.
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Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos resumed his governmental duties on Monday after undergoing surgery to remove a non-aggressive, cancerous tumor from his prostate in Bogotá last Wednesday. Following a prognosis with a 97 percent chance of a full recovery without chemotherapy or radiation, the president’s doctors deemed the surgery a success. Santos is the sixth South American president to undergo treatment this year. Presidents Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner of Argentina, Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, as well as former Presidents Fernando Lugo of Paraguay and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil have also publicly battled cancer.
While he is not allowed to travel during his three-week recovery, President Santos has resumed his domestic duties, signing 34 decrees and calling to congratulate Hugo Chávez on his victory on Sunday. He is currently preparing for the long-awaited peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC) which will begin in Norway on October 17. The nearly fifty-year conflict between the Colombian government and the rebels has centered on land reform, an issue which the FARC does not feel has been addressed despite the president’s 2011 land titling and redistribution program, the Victims and Land Restitution Law.
Successful negotiations would benefit President Santos’ approval ratings and the improved stability will make Colombia more attractive for investors. A boost in investment would be welcome, given the International Monetary Fund’s reduced growth predictions for the region, from 3.4 and 4.2 percent for 2012 and 2013, respectively, to 3.2 and 3.9 percent.
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Lo impensable hace un mes, se estaba cocinando en secreto hace por lo menos un año: unas conversaciones exploratorias entre el gobierno y las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) para la consecución de la paz en Colombia. La alocución este martes del presidente Juan Manuel Santos confirmó en modo, tiempo y lugar las noticias sueltas sobre unos acercamientos entre las partes que resultaron sorpresivos por haber manejado con éxito algo de lo que se ha carecido en anteriores procesos de paz: la discreción.
Y es quizá este factor el que hace revestir de optimismo este cuarto intento de paz en las últimas dos décadas, luego de frustrados diálogos durante los gobiernos de Belisario Betancur (1983) César Gaviria (1991-1992) y Andrés Pastrana (1999). El último es el más tristemente célebre por haber permitido que la guerrilla se fortaleciera militarmente y se metiera sin aspavientos (aún más) en el camino del narcotráfico. Su desmadre catapultó el escenario para que Álvaro Uribe fuera elegido como el presidente de la mano dura, propiciando ocho años más de conflicto en el que la palabra guerra fue el sustantivo preferido del Estado.
Hoy dos años después de que Uribe—el popular presidente y ruidoso expresidente—cediera su lugar a Santos, quien fuera su ministro de defensa y parece desmarcarse paulatinamente de la derecha, las FARC y el Gobierno han confirmado públicamente que hubo cerca de 10 rondas exploratorias en La Habana, que confían en la seriedad del otro y que se la están jugando a fondo por la paz. Este martes las FARC también hicieron dos alocuciones televisadas. Una de ellas, la más diciente, la del comandante ‘Timochenko” quien aseguró que llegan a la mesa de negociaciones “sin rencores, ni arrogancia” y otra que pasó casi desapercibida: un rap desafiante en el que un grupo de guerrilleros cuenta las bajas y éxitos que ha tenido la guerrilla, se muestran felices por irse para La Habana y porque a pesar de que los han llamado narcoterroristas durante décadas, el gobierno se sienta a conversar con ellos.
Aunque los resultados no pueden ser predecibles ahora, es rescatable que en estos últimos meses las conversaciones no se fueron al traste pese a que en el país sucedían hechos como la muerte del líder de la guerrilla Alfonso Cano, y acciones armadas de las FARC, con víctimas civiles, en todo el territorio nacional. También es innegable que la guerrilla que se sienta a negociar no es la de hace ocho años que tenía 14.000 hombres alzados en armas—hoy tiene 8.000—o cientos de secuestrados canjeables en su poder.
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During a televised speech on Tuesday afternoon, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced that peace talks between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, will take place in October. Santos, who has been holding exploratory talks with the FARC since February, said that the talks will take place in Oslo, Norway and Havana, Cuba. Meanwhile, the FARC announced the peace talks in a video message broadcast to international journalists in Havana. The FARC's leader, Rodrigo Londono, or “Timochenko”, urged a "civilized dialogue" to end the fighting.
Both sides have signed a framework for the peace talks, addressing a conflict that has plagued Colombia since the mid-1960s. The plan is to begin formal peace negotiations in Oslo before moving to Havana. Cuba has mediated similar peace processes in the past, and this time Venezuela and Chile will also act as participants in the discussion.
RCN Radio reported that the agenda for discussion will include agrarian reform, political participation, drug trafficking, reparations for victims and the process for ending the conflict and implementing the peace deal.
The announcement has drawn criticism from former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, who said that holding peace talks without a ceasefire is impossible.
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Last weekend Colombian journal El Espectador revealed that the government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the Fuerzas Armandas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces⎯FARC) have made preliminary moves toward the launch of peace negotiations, initiating a series of opinions and speculation from different sectors of the Colombian government.
According to a report on Monday on Telesur, negotiations between the two parties began in Havana in May, assisted by representatives from Norway, Cuba and Venezuela. The formal opening of the peace negotiations will take place in Oslo on October 5, and will be continued in Cuba. The agenda for the negotiation will include topics such as demobilization, cessation of hostilities and disarmament.
Governmental sources noted that the Executive would not comment "for now" on the report issued by Telesur. However, these sources did confirm a meeting held Monday between President Santos and former OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria, a potential negotiator with the FARC.
While journalists and politicians discussed the details of the negotiation, agents of the Fiscalía General de Colombia arrested 22 members of the FARC in the department of Antioquia in northwestern Colombia. The detainees were seized on charges of rebellion, terrorism, and production, trafficking or possession of firearms and narcotics.
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It is almost tautological to say that Colombians desire peace. Who wouldn’t, especially in a country that has suffered decades of internal confrontation?
Desiring peace, however, is not the same as desiring a peace process, or desiring any peace process. Rushing into peace talks lacking a clear strategy, proceeding upon false assumptions and believing that good will alone is enough to secure peace has been the fatal flaw of all recent attempts to end Colombia’s conflict by agreement rather than by force. High enthusiasm followed by bitter disappointment has been the mark, at least in the most prominent cases: the peace talks conducted under President Belisario Betancur in the 1980s, and the infamous process that took place during the term of President Andrés Pastrana (1998-2002).
Common sense would indicate that President Santos is not bound to repeat these mistakes, as he walks toward what seems to be his greatest personal goal: to preside over a successful peace process with the FARC and the ELN, Colombia’s remaining left-wing guerilla organizations. Lessons from the past must have been learnt, and, in any case, Santos has proved to have a more strategically oriented behavior than some of his predecessors.
Nonetheless, at times it seems like the Santos administration is again rushing carelessly: proof of this would be the so-called “Legal Framework for Peace,” a constitutional amendment introduced in Congress by the Administration, which is close to being approved. The “Framework,” which aims at removing legal obstacles for the demobilization of guerilla members and commanders, has drawn criticism from many corners. From the Right, former President Uribe and others regard it as an excessive concession since it would grant perpetrators of horrific crimes the possibility of even being elected to public office. From a different perspective, Human Rights Watch has severely criticized the amendment, claiming that its outcome would be full impunity for crimes against humanity and war crimes. The “Framework,” many others claim, is premature: it should be introduced at the final stage of a negotiation, not before it has even started.
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After being held hostage for 33 days by the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), Romeo Langlois was handed to a humanitarian mission on Wednesday afternoon in the department of Caquetá. The mission was composed of delegates from the International Committee of the Red Cross, a representative of the French government and members of the organization Colombianos y Colombianas por la Paz.
The capture of Langlois came just two months after the FARC’s February 26 statement in which the guerrilla group declared it would no longer engage in kidnapping as a source of revenue, the first time an announcement of this kind had been made by the FARC. AQ blogger Jenny Manrique notes that the kidnapping “was an example of the power that the FARC maintains in one of its strongholds in the south.”
Langlois, 35, has lived in Colombia for 12 years covering the armed conflict. For him, the situation does not end there. “The [Colombian] Government advertised the idea that the conflict was over, and that is not true,” he stated during the ceremony that followed his release. Langlois was to meet with French government representatives in Florence, Colombia.
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