Now, that I realized, you did not print my previous comment, let me say: The mother of a near relative was kidnapped. She was over 80 years old. Her son in law got money and attended a meeting with the "gentlemen of the FARC". He not only brought the money but glasses, hers were found on the street, and insulin because she was diabetic. Neither them nor the money was ever seen again. He was the father of a blind child.....My nieces, at that time younger than teenagers, run the Country wherever a mass grave was found. Image the suffering! Nothing. I relate this, which is a minor incident in the dreadful history of the FARCs, to show the "love" that inspired them to take arms against the rest of their countrymen. And they have shown their courage escaping to Cuba, the "paradise of freedom". The rest of their tugs, while they enjoy the privileges denied to the rest of the Cubans, were left behind. I took my children to USA with me because I thought that was an opportunity to avoid them the same nightmares of Mr. Londono's childhood. I, nevertheless, have chills listening to the histories of the never ending assassinations, black mailing and kidnappings that still happens even during the so conveniently called "temporary peace agreement". And let me add, the drug business is so lucrative to them that soon after the "peace" is signed, another front will be open, so this tugs will manage to enjoy the money and the .......IMPUNITY!!!
There have been successful peace processes in Colombia that can be a model. I am surprised that no one, including Ernesto Londono, have pointed out that several prominent politicians were once members of the urban guerrilla group M-19, which laid down their arms in 1990. Gustavo Petro, the current mayor of Bogota, is a former member of the M-19.
However, because of the entrance of drugs into the conflict since the 1980s, any negotiation with the FARC will probably end up more like the negotiations with the paramilitary groups in the 2000s with President Uribe. Like members of the FARC, many former paramilitaries know no other way of life, and have entered politics not as politicians but as armed thugs supporting corrupt office holders. This kind of political gangsterism now dominates Colombia's Caribbean coast; we can expect that former FARC members will support a similar system on the Pacific coast and parts of the Colombian plains. Although Colombian drug gangs have ceded the transportation networks to Central American, Mexican, and West African criminal organizations, much of the coca and 80% of the world's cocaine still comes from Colombia. When this lucrative business ends, the peace process will have more success, but that has more to do with U.S. and European drug habits that with anything going on in Colombia.
However, because of the entrance of drugs into the conflict since the 1980s, any negotiation with the FARC will probably end up more like the negotiations with the paramilitary groups in the 2000s with President Uribe. Like members of the FARC, many former paramilitaries know no other way of life, and have entered politics not as politicians but as armed thugs supporting corrupt office holders. This kind of political gangsterism now dominates Colombia's Caribbean coast; we can expect that former FARC members will support a similar system on the Pacific coast and parts of the Colombian plains. Although Colombian drug gangs have ceded the transportation networks to Central American, Mexican, and West African criminal organizations, much of the coca and 80% of the world's cocaine still comes from Colombia. When this lucrative business ends, the peace process will have more success, but that has more to do with U.S. and European drug habits that with anything going on in Colombia.
1
Accountability for everybody: guerrilla, paramilitaries and government. Everybody is corrupted. Justice it cannot be only for poor people in Latinoamérica.
The violence in Colombia is an issue of the people of the highlands; that has been observed by English, French, and other travelers since the XVIII century.
That bloodthirstiness is not found in the Caribbean Coast where cities like Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta have been overwhelmed with refugees.
Methinks this, so called, peace talks is just a smokescreen. The FARC must have the goods on the cachaco elite involved in drug traffic and that's why they are "negotiating".
That bloodthirstiness is not found in the Caribbean Coast where cities like Cartagena, Barranquilla and Santa Marta have been overwhelmed with refugees.
Methinks this, so called, peace talks is just a smokescreen. The FARC must have the goods on the cachaco elite involved in drug traffic and that's why they are "negotiating".
1
Kidnapping is a horrible crime, but holding an entire country hostage to extreme poverty so a few can enjoy the luxuries that wealth brings, is a worse one.
4
First, a clarification. The chief negotiator for Colombia in Havana is not Sergio Jaramillo, as the article states. It is Humberto de la Calle.
The success of the negotiations may hing more on the attitude of Colombians toward accepting the full integration of the leaders of the Farc into society then the actual talks in Cuba. According to varios polls, although almost all desire an end to the fighting, the vast majority feel that the guerrilla leaders should serve prison terms and not be allowed to participate in Congress. This clearly is unacceptable for the Farc. Any final agreement must be submitted to the population for approval, in a referéndum.
Personally, I feel that it is necessary to reach a balance between total impunity for crimes against humanity , which is unacceptable, and the realization that not all criminals will be punished for the greater benefit of reconciliation. This is a painful process and is not easy. Even if formal peace is achieved, the physical and psychological effects will be felt for generations.
Finally, I was impressed by Ernest Londoñ's writing skills. I would like to know how old he was when he left Colombia and began to use English. Does he continue to write in Spanish? It is inspiring for us when a Colombian achieves success, especially under difficult conditions.
The success of the negotiations may hing more on the attitude of Colombians toward accepting the full integration of the leaders of the Farc into society then the actual talks in Cuba. According to varios polls, although almost all desire an end to the fighting, the vast majority feel that the guerrilla leaders should serve prison terms and not be allowed to participate in Congress. This clearly is unacceptable for the Farc. Any final agreement must be submitted to the population for approval, in a referéndum.
Personally, I feel that it is necessary to reach a balance between total impunity for crimes against humanity , which is unacceptable, and the realization that not all criminals will be punished for the greater benefit of reconciliation. This is a painful process and is not easy. Even if formal peace is achieved, the physical and psychological effects will be felt for generations.
Finally, I was impressed by Ernest Londoñ's writing skills. I would like to know how old he was when he left Colombia and began to use English. Does he continue to write in Spanish? It is inspiring for us when a Colombian achieves success, especially under difficult conditions.
2
I'm reminded of President Mujica of Uruguay, himself a former Marxist guerrilla fighter: "Peace trumps justice"
Ernesto London writes about justice for the many victims of FARC's atrocities, which despite of what Ivan Marquez says in the video, did occur. But let's be fair-minded, most atrocities in the Colombian war were commited by the army and the paramilitaries, at the service of many of those who remain rich and powerful. It seems it is a foregone conclusion that no justice will be pursued for the latter, so why should justice for the former be held as an impediment for peace?
Ernesto London writes about justice for the many victims of FARC's atrocities, which despite of what Ivan Marquez says in the video, did occur. But let's be fair-minded, most atrocities in the Colombian war were commited by the army and the paramilitaries, at the service of many of those who remain rich and powerful. It seems it is a foregone conclusion that no justice will be pursued for the latter, so why should justice for the former be held as an impediment for peace?
3
"“I also would have wanted my kids to meet Mickey Mouse,” the robber said derisively." Excellent reason to rob houses.
When you mention that children are educated and some are not it proves that we are a lost society in a not too civilized world since Hitler invaded Poland. Look what happened then after Germany was split in two after WWII. Now it is whole again but there are still militants out there wanting to divide the populace. And we're seeing it in the drug cartels either in South America or in Russia.
In college, I participated in a study abroad program in Bogota in the mid-80s, and witnessed first-hand the gross inequality that the author refers to (but barely elaborates on) . This included the utter lack of any welfare system for the poor, kindergarten age children lifting concrete blocks on construction sites, and people living in housing made out of trash bags and reeds; while a minority lived a gilded and glossy life in gated communities and clubs that rivaled upper class life in LA or Miami. I have a colleague who adopted a boy who was orphaned and living in the street in the 90s and who somehow survived (physically, but not emotionally) the paramilitary death squads who hunted down street children. I witnessed the fear and destruction of the FARC - there were clearly areas on the outskirts of the city and in other locations that we were not allowed to go, and a Colombian boyfriend who had joined the army and been killed by the FARC. The day I flew out, the FARC took a bus hostage and used it as a firing range to assasinate the editor of El Tiempo. Although clearly the FARC have a lot to answer for, there must be substantial punishment meted out to the Colombian elites for their utter disregard for the poor (with the exception of band-aid and patronizing charity) and their promotion of punishment of the poor, rather than creation of a real social net for them.
1
Thank you, Ernesto Londoño.
It's not so simple as "good guys" & "bad guys", is it ?
A writer that I admire, Howard Zinn, said, "The opposite of poverty is not wealth - the opposite of poverty is justice."
It's not so simple as "good guys" & "bad guys", is it ?
A writer that I admire, Howard Zinn, said, "The opposite of poverty is not wealth - the opposite of poverty is justice."
The travesty of the "peace conference" in Cuba of all places, is that it is going to be the unique arrangement by which a bunch of assassins, are going to be welcome by the Colombian government as full citizens with all the privileges and protection of the Colombian constitution. No justice for the perpetrators of "crimes of lesa humanity". No accounting for the damage and the enormous amount of money made through ransom, black mail and drug smuggling. The frenetic endeavor of president Santos to sign an accord, any accord, that might be enough for him to get the Nobel price will bring to Colombia the "high society of the lowest rats of sewage" south america has known. Money and impunity will teach the new generations which is the 'real" way to success. How come a bunch of rats, estimated in seven thousands are able to defeat the Colombian army? If guerrilla warfare is very difficult to defeat, the Colombian army is built by the same population that constituted the guerrilla. If they know the jungle, the army knows the jungle, if they know how to move arms and equipment, the soldiers of the Colombian army know too. But the bunch of guerrilleros are successful because there had been a series of presidents and governments that are not really interested in peace in the country. Wit and see, after the "peace" is signed another group will restart the same gerrilla with another name but with the same "rats" now in better bonds with the communistic governments of South America.
Agrarian reform is an issue that had relevance 50 years ago. Colombia is now predominantly urban, with close to 75% of the population living in cities. Given the reality of a rapidly modernizing economy and an exploding urban middle class, and assuming the FARC is negotiating in good faith, it would seem, sadly, they are living in an alternate reality. On the other hand, a cynic might wonder why the FARC isn’t offering its hundreds of millions of dollars gained from extortion and drug running to finance ‘agrarian reform’. It would be hard to spend all that cash while in jail. Anyhow, two years and counting of R & R in Havana sounds like a good deal.
There was violence on both sides, and the development of the FARC was a response to La Violencia, so beautifully illustrated in the books of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I don't believe that the tactics used by the FARC were effective; they frightened and alienated much of the Columbian poulation. But it's difficult to organize under a repressive and violent regime.
And yes, Mr Staples, the "Gringos" were either directly or indirectly responsible for installing or propping up those regimes in Guatemala, Uruguay, Chile, Cuba, etc. And we assisted by training torture techniques to Latin American armies that were used in many countries. This was done at the infamous School of the Americas. It was very clear in Guatemala, when we engineered a military coup against democratically elected Arbenz government. John Foster Dulles, US Secretary of State and Allen Dulles, CIA head were both on board of United Fruit Co. Garcia Marquez writes about United Fruit Co and violence in Columbia.
And yes, Mr Staples, the "Gringos" were either directly or indirectly responsible for installing or propping up those regimes in Guatemala, Uruguay, Chile, Cuba, etc. And we assisted by training torture techniques to Latin American armies that were used in many countries. This was done at the infamous School of the Americas. It was very clear in Guatemala, when we engineered a military coup against democratically elected Arbenz government. John Foster Dulles, US Secretary of State and Allen Dulles, CIA head were both on board of United Fruit Co. Garcia Marquez writes about United Fruit Co and violence in Columbia.
1
I lived in Bogota for three years, arriving as a student but ultimately choosing a simpler life working with community housing organizations as a technician and laborer rather than as a student.
The people I met invariably knew nothing of the lives of the rich in the country, just as Americans now know little of our mega-rich. I never saw drugs or heard expectations of a better life except through their own efforts. The Colombians were and are a strong people.
The guerrilla movement in Colombia is like a self-help movement as well, but one that metastasized into a self governing state that has controlled vast stretches of the country. Attitudes have hardened in Colombia between those who have and have not, and I always found it depressing yet strangely cheering to see that some kind of intransigent stand has developed against the horrible class barriers imposed by the elites. This article provides truthful witness to those things. I cannot easily engage in moral judgements about the atrocities committed in particular cases, because in Colombia the larger atrocity has been class apartheid. Over time the participants have lost sight of whether or not they should trade in coke (what else?) or hurt innocents to raise money. Let the USA heed the example and avoid such a future.
The people I met invariably knew nothing of the lives of the rich in the country, just as Americans now know little of our mega-rich. I never saw drugs or heard expectations of a better life except through their own efforts. The Colombians were and are a strong people.
The guerrilla movement in Colombia is like a self-help movement as well, but one that metastasized into a self governing state that has controlled vast stretches of the country. Attitudes have hardened in Colombia between those who have and have not, and I always found it depressing yet strangely cheering to see that some kind of intransigent stand has developed against the horrible class barriers imposed by the elites. This article provides truthful witness to those things. I cannot easily engage in moral judgements about the atrocities committed in particular cases, because in Colombia the larger atrocity has been class apartheid. Over time the participants have lost sight of whether or not they should trade in coke (what else?) or hurt innocents to raise money. Let the USA heed the example and avoid such a future.
1
I hope there will be more articles about Colombia and the peace process. The comments show that it is a controversial topic and one that is not well understood. The NYTs could help in clarifying why opinions are so divers.
2
I have lived in the safety of the US all my life. But I have always been fearful of kidnapping, and other crimes on families, not because my family was wealthy, we were far from that, but because as a child I read everything I could get my hands on about the world, and wondered how children in other countries managed to not be fearful.
My gut tells me that especially in your country, when your gut says do not trust, do not trust. Which of course means some kind of compromise, but a huge amount of wariness and planning on top of that.
Best wishes, and thank you for the interview.
My gut tells me that especially in your country, when your gut says do not trust, do not trust. Which of course means some kind of compromise, but a huge amount of wariness and planning on top of that.
Best wishes, and thank you for the interview.
While I realize the author is speaking his truth, I fear this article will feed outsiders' fantasies of Colombia as a country of oligarchs, drug lords, guerrillas, and suffering peasant masses. The reality couldn't be further from the truth.
Colombia has changed massively in the last 10-15 years, fueled by urban transformations and impressive local politics. Leaders such as Antanas Mockus and Enrique Penalosa laid the groundwork by creating a sense of citizenry and inclusion. They built transit, schools, libraries, playgrounds, pedestrian facilities, bike trails, etc. that knitted communities together through shared spaces and interactions. Citizens became active stakeholders, and crime rates dropped dramatically. These changes started in Bogota and Medellin, then rippled across the nation. And the difference shows. When you compare Colombian cities to those in Mexico, you see a lower top end, but a bigger middle.
The current peace process reflects both this urban middle class that is fed up with conflict and guerrillas who have ventured from their remote villages to see the new reality of modern Colombia, only to realize that their enemies are no longer the adversaries they had imagined. "Wait, then what are we fighting for?" And so the peace process unfolds.
I write this comment specifically because I have lived in Colombia and want to address the gross misconceptions voiced by some commenters. In actual fact, Colombia has achieved a lot and has a bright future.
Colombia has changed massively in the last 10-15 years, fueled by urban transformations and impressive local politics. Leaders such as Antanas Mockus and Enrique Penalosa laid the groundwork by creating a sense of citizenry and inclusion. They built transit, schools, libraries, playgrounds, pedestrian facilities, bike trails, etc. that knitted communities together through shared spaces and interactions. Citizens became active stakeholders, and crime rates dropped dramatically. These changes started in Bogota and Medellin, then rippled across the nation. And the difference shows. When you compare Colombian cities to those in Mexico, you see a lower top end, but a bigger middle.
The current peace process reflects both this urban middle class that is fed up with conflict and guerrillas who have ventured from their remote villages to see the new reality of modern Colombia, only to realize that their enemies are no longer the adversaries they had imagined. "Wait, then what are we fighting for?" And so the peace process unfolds.
I write this comment specifically because I have lived in Colombia and want to address the gross misconceptions voiced by some commenters. In actual fact, Colombia has achieved a lot and has a bright future.
3
The government is negotiating from a position of strength having dealt important military blows to the guerrilla leadership; however, that does not legitimize the moral grounds of its claim that the FARC is the one to be held accountable for the majority of the atrocities that have taken place in this war. Beyond Mr. Londoño's nightmares, the Colombian people have suffered greatly at the hands of the Colombian army and the right wing paramilitary. The families of hundreds, if not thousands, of poor peasants who were quartered alive have nightmares too, and they demand accountability, justice, and reparations too.
1
Do you want accountability before peace, then account for the murder of Jorge Eliecer Gaitán and the hundreds of thousands of Colombians who followed. Account for the millions of Colombians who, today, live in abject poverty, whose children die of preventable diseases, and lack of drinking water. They suffer daily not only the fear of violence, but also the fear of corruption and neglect. Colombians are very creative, adaptable, and highly entreprenurial. But these character traits can also mask a degree of callousness, perhaps a necessary survival mechanism. In what could be considered a nihilistic magical realism, Colombians openly classify themselves by numbered levels of social stratta: estrato 1-10. Level 1 being equivalent to the U.S. 1% citizens. Level 10 are considered and called desechables (disposables). Creativity and imagination alone will not suffice to reach and sustain peace. Colombians must develop a new civic ethos, one based on respect for the dignity of all human life through the rule of law.
3
As Mr. Londoño, I attended an American school and my classmates were Colombia's social elite. The maids he mentions were girls plucked from their homes in rural Colombia, teenagers or younger. They were brought in to live in a small room behind the kitchen, a small radio as their only source of entertainment. They were available 16+ hours a day with the occasional night visit from the “señores” (I am not making this up). They were given “permission” to go out for 8 hours on Sunday at the discretion of the 'señora". Pay below minimum wage, no overtime. Modern day slavery. The bodyguards didn’t have a significantly better situation. Or the rest of the poor for that matter (the bulk of Colombia's population). Indeed, one can say that things are better now in terms of wages and labor rights, less endemic. but the disdain and disrespect that the people that served us all day received from this “elite” still persists. This disdain towards the “less worthy” is what charactherizes the “oligarchy” he mentions, not just wealth. Indeed, homeless people are referred to as “the disposables”. The FARC have been a disgrace to our country. Their atrocities inexcusable. But if Colombia is to one day achieve real peace and be the country I would yearn for, the centuries long separation of its’ people into "nobles" and peasants must cease to exist or violence will persist. Like Mr. Londoño, I want to have faith that someday it will happen but like him I just don’t trust it will.
5
Inequality is continuing to grow in the US.
There are 9 guns for every 10 Americans.
Violence born of desperation is growing.
The police are militarized
There is increasing police brutality and overkill (no pun intended) in what should be routine searches and stops.
If we don't turn things around in the US, we can expect a future similar to Columbia's past.
There are 9 guns for every 10 Americans.
Violence born of desperation is growing.
The police are militarized
There is increasing police brutality and overkill (no pun intended) in what should be routine searches and stops.
If we don't turn things around in the US, we can expect a future similar to Columbia's past.
1
The descendants of the Spanish conquistadors rule Colombia with an iron hand. Just look at Santos or Uribe. Their great grandparents murdered, raped and kidnapped at their leisure. They continue the tradition of abuse to maintain power in my beautiful country. The FARC and other groups wanted inclusion and to destroy the caste system that is still in place. The descendants of the murderers and rapists did not want to share power. They enjoyed the benefits of the status quo. Just look at the political scene in Colombia. Everyone is white! There are two seats reserved for Afro-Colombians in congress. In 2014 those seats are currently being contested because the current office holders are not Afro-Colombian. The real issue is that the legacy of Spanish rule still effects Colombia. The ruling elite continue to drain the countries resources while the poor meek out a brutal existence. The elite think its their right to money and power. Once the elite accept reality and learn to be humans then the country will begin to heal.
3
This perpetuates the convenient fiction that "there are two sides to every story". Uh, no. This was just an argument between gangster groups over control of the drug trade. Now that the USA is withdrawing the money, FARC is losing, so naturally their aged leaders want peace.
1
We have two hands and most of us are right handed but, when the right hand for some reason can't function as it's supposed to, the left hand becomes more and more used until sometimes, becomes stronger than the right. This is the situation with the political hands; it's the right the one that creates and empower the left. In Latin America (And slowly is happening here) the right has committed so many injustices through the centuries, that the people lost faith in change and some of them resort to violence, which is something that the right used for centuries themselves anyway. Until the moneyed class understands that they should give the ones who toil every day for a living the chance of a better life through a decent salary and decent justice, we are always going to have a left. We are seeing this in the States, where salaries keep going down even for the highly educated and companies are making higher and higher profits, many times on an illegal way like Wall Street. It's the right the one that creates and feeds the left with it's inhuman actions. Henry Ford when paying his workers $5 a day -a wonderful wage for those years- said "I want my workers to be able to buy the cars I build." I don't see that attitude today with CEO's making millions whether the companies they run makes a profit or not. A CEO shouldn't make more than twenty times what the lowest paid worker makes in his company and if he wants more money, he should have to raise everybody's salary proportionally.
The FARC may have had its origins in the desire to bring economic equality to a class-divided country with a large disadvantaged population. But like all revolutionary groups, they believed the ends justified the means. So they gave themselves permission to kidnap, torture and murder. When the drug cartels fell, the FARC took over the business to reap the rewards of the insatiable drug habits of North Americans and Europeans. Does this make us complicit in Colombia’s miseries? Yes. Has the Colombian government and its army committed atrocities? Yes. Was (and is) there a right-wing paramilitary force that justifies its own crimes on the grounds that they were protecting Colombians from the FARC? Yes.
None of this bad behavior can be justified – not the government’s, the paramilitary’s, or the FARC’s. Read the accounts of people kidnapped by the FARC and held in the jungle for years, and learn the meaning of cruelty. Consider the thousands of families, and not just rich ones, that the FARC devastated through kidnapping and murder, all in the name of justice.
There are so many bad actors here it's hard to distinguish them after awhile. But right now we're talking about the FARC. The FARC remains in denial: it continues to promote a fairytale of itself as noble and high-minded. This is sociopathic, or evil, or both. There's nothing here to redeem.
None of this bad behavior can be justified – not the government’s, the paramilitary’s, or the FARC’s. Read the accounts of people kidnapped by the FARC and held in the jungle for years, and learn the meaning of cruelty. Consider the thousands of families, and not just rich ones, that the FARC devastated through kidnapping and murder, all in the name of justice.
There are so many bad actors here it's hard to distinguish them after awhile. But right now we're talking about the FARC. The FARC remains in denial: it continues to promote a fairytale of itself as noble and high-minded. This is sociopathic, or evil, or both. There's nothing here to redeem.
Don't you just love terrorist euphemisms? Like Mr. Marin's oh-so-nice word for kidnapping-for-ransom.
“Retentions,” he corrected me, “were done to support rebellion.” Their goal is always rationalized by-whatever-means is necessary to achieve victory or in this case, peace.
“Retentions,” he corrected me, “were done to support rebellion.” Their goal is always rationalized by-whatever-means is necessary to achieve victory or in this case, peace.
What is evidenced by detailed accounts about Latin American society like this is the endemic nature of macho "might makes right" morality, cultures of violence that exist south of our border. And we must recognize the Catholic Church's complicity in all this by indoctrinating the ignorant that all manner of sin is expected, & that responsibility and guilt can easily be shed by confession, the excuse of poverty, & submitting/swearing loyalty to either the Church or some political authority. Blaming all the region's problems on the "Gringos" should be recognized for the lie it is & disallowed as a means for these societies to escape responsibility at all levels. Whether its the unapologetic thievery and corruption of the area's wealthy oligarchical elites or the kill, kidnap, rap or steal from any one for wealth or status ethical system held by its immense underclass - this is a region in need of intense self-criticism. These area's elites also need to be humiliated into conducting needed progressive change by the kind of vicious recrimination's from the US media that the NY Times directs against our 'populist' American citizen democratic majority when it has some conflicting interests - like kissing up to illegal immigrants for subscriptions or advertising fees, or the 1% that use the continuing flood of "wretched and downtrodden" as slaves & to kill US wages. But wait! If the 1% media told the whole truth, there would no 'push' to force Latin American slave labor north.
5
Perhaps we shouldn't blame all our problems in the "gringos". But.... I am sorry to say.... it seems that our drug problems started in the 1970's when some of our gringo neighbors, veterans of the Vietnam war, started making trips to Colombia, especially to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region, in order to train peasants on the art of marihuana production. So perhaps we can share some of the blame. AND after decades of war and spraying our land with poisons, it turns out Colorado and other states legalize marihuana! Great!!! When will you start growing coca? Plus we may have our problems with violence, but not the random school shootings that have become a true American tradition. True Americana!
Your lack of awareness and knowledge of the region's history is borne out by this tired "do not blame us/it is all your fault" tirade. First of all, what is "Latin American" society? Is Uruguay, tiny, small, 97% white and fairly affluent somehow comparable to, say, Bolivia? Some countries "south of the border" are fairly conservative, yet others, like Argentina and Brazil, are places where gay marriage is a reality, socialized healthcare is not anathema and interesting and challenging discussions about race are taking place.
Oh, and by the way, when people do blame the United States for some of the political ills of the region, they're usually right: Ask the mothers of Plaza de Mayo, whose children were murdered by military thugs financed, trained and abetted by the CIA. Ask the peasants of Nicaraguas, tortured and brutalized by Contras armed with Iranian weapons by American spooks.
Oh, and by the way, when people do blame the United States for some of the political ills of the region, they're usually right: Ask the mothers of Plaza de Mayo, whose children were murdered by military thugs financed, trained and abetted by the CIA. Ask the peasants of Nicaraguas, tortured and brutalized by Contras armed with Iranian weapons by American spooks.
While I carry no brief for FARC, this does seem pretty lopsided, considering the atrocities carried out on the populace by Colombian government agencies and paramilitaries (not to mention our enabling of the same). Seems far more like class warfare down there.
22
Let’s blame the government for the atrocities of this left wing Marxist group. Never mind that it was people like the artist in the story that with his OWN hard work provide a good life for his family were victim of this group. It makes sense.
When are the Liberals going to realize that their utopian paradise produced only dirt poor population just like the people of Cuba?
What was the purpose of this lefty group? To make sure nobody AIM HIGH so that everybody stay poor. Just like Mayor Diblasio who tried to take out charter school because he wanted all kids of NYC to be illiterate.
When are the Liberals going to realize that their utopian paradise produced only dirt poor population just like the people of Cuba?
What was the purpose of this lefty group? To make sure nobody AIM HIGH so that everybody stay poor. Just like Mayor Diblasio who tried to take out charter school because he wanted all kids of NYC to be illiterate.
Perhaps Colombian can learn some important lessons from Rwandans. Every Rwandan was touched by the 1994 genocide, where neighbors slashed and burned neighbors until 20% of the population laid dead. There were clear victims and clear perpetrators, but what do you do if you are a survivor and your neighbors--the ones you see at church, to whom you sell your crops, who treat you when you are ill at the hospital--have blood in their hands? They have (for the most part) reconciled, even though the burden of reconciliation fell most heavily, and therefore most unfairly, upon the victims. But at some point, you gotta be able to remember but forgive.
Colombians must set aside their differences, forgive each other for the past, assign some blame and show some contrition but at the same time sometimes agree to disagree on who was at fault for what. Reconciliation will not be fair, but Colombia will be a better country if Colombians achieve it.
Colombians must set aside their differences, forgive each other for the past, assign some blame and show some contrition but at the same time sometimes agree to disagree on who was at fault for what. Reconciliation will not be fair, but Colombia will be a better country if Colombians achieve it.
3
Sooner or later it must be explained why our friends deal all of the world's drugs: Columbia, Mexico, Peru, Afghanistan, Myanmar or launder its money while we attack those not in the business, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, Ecuador. This seems to come from the very top of the Beltway circuit. The division would also seem to be along the fault lines of politically Left and the drug producing nations that are all extremely right wing.
There are hundreds of billions of dollars involved annually and much of its profits are generated right here in America.
There are hundreds of billions of dollars involved annually and much of its profits are generated right here in America.
12
Criminal gangs in Iran, Venezuela, Ecuador, Cuba, and Venezuela are all involved in narcotrafficking--if not in the production of heroin and cocaine, at least in the transportation of it to other countries. The real problem is that of addiction and abuse in the U.S. The question should be "Why do the citizens of all classes and ethnic groups in the U.S. consume illicit drugs at a higher per capita rate than in any of the producer countries?" What is so awful about living in the U.S. that people pay top dollar to escape their reality?
Mr. Londono and his parents were victims of the war, just like most Colombians -- like the citizens of Troy and Ithaca too -- caught up in a savage war, which ought to have ended long ago.
Peace processes can work, witness Oscar Arias's success in ending the civil war in Nicaragua (opposition from the Reagan administration's Iran-contra crowd notwithstanding) because Arias understood what other observers did not. that both the Sandinistas and the contras were exhausted and discouraged. psychologically ready for peace.
In Colombia, rank and file FARC have lost much,presumably ready for peace, but I wonder about their leaders, ensconced in relative luxury in Habana with egos showing. Their incentive is to prolong the negotiations, forever if necessary, until they get full immunity, Colombia be damned.
Without a third party - Cuba has done a good thing by hosting talks but is unsuitable for a mediator - to press the reluctant, in this case the FARC leaders, there is little incentive for compromise. Perhaps the Pope should be asked to name mediators for a final push. He just helped with a worldly miracle, the loosening of our Cuban Embargo and Cuba's release of 53 prisoners of conscience;
Peace processes can work, witness Oscar Arias's success in ending the civil war in Nicaragua (opposition from the Reagan administration's Iran-contra crowd notwithstanding) because Arias understood what other observers did not. that both the Sandinistas and the contras were exhausted and discouraged. psychologically ready for peace.
In Colombia, rank and file FARC have lost much,presumably ready for peace, but I wonder about their leaders, ensconced in relative luxury in Habana with egos showing. Their incentive is to prolong the negotiations, forever if necessary, until they get full immunity, Colombia be damned.
Without a third party - Cuba has done a good thing by hosting talks but is unsuitable for a mediator - to press the reluctant, in this case the FARC leaders, there is little incentive for compromise. Perhaps the Pope should be asked to name mediators for a final push. He just helped with a worldly miracle, the loosening of our Cuban Embargo and Cuba's release of 53 prisoners of conscience;
7
What's not mentioned is the Colombian government's program to attract FARC defectors and rehabilitate them. As the talks go on, the FARC ranks will be more and more depleted-an incentive to compromise
"In Colombia, rank and file FARC have lost much,presumably ready for peace.."
offers of peace, bread and land might sway large factions of fighters to put down their arms and pursue more socially stable activities on their own. as for the leaders, maybe they can live in exile in cuba with mr. castro's blessing. i doubt if they would feel safe back home even with numerous armed bodyguards.
offers of peace, bread and land might sway large factions of fighters to put down their arms and pursue more socially stable activities on their own. as for the leaders, maybe they can live in exile in cuba with mr. castro's blessing. i doubt if they would feel safe back home even with numerous armed bodyguards.
There should be no negotiations with the FARC. They will never rejoin normal society or live by any rules. FARC is no more than just a business enterprise that deals in terror and drugs. The only way to deal with FARC is to fight them and finish them once and for all.
Just like the author, I got to see Colombia get ripped apart by the violence. I was lucky to escape Colombia in 1992; countless others did not.
I got to see car bombs being detonated indiscriminately against the civilian population, kidnappings became a normal routine and let's not forget the endless funerals of family and friends who were killed for no other reason other than having just a little more than some FARC thug.
I'm one of a multitude of Colombians who had no other option but to flee such violence. I recently visited and saw a vast improvement in security and overall progress. Like many Colombians, I support a hard stance against the terrorist forces of the FARC and I don't think any accord in Cuba will change things.
Just like the author, I got to see Colombia get ripped apart by the violence. I was lucky to escape Colombia in 1992; countless others did not.
I got to see car bombs being detonated indiscriminately against the civilian population, kidnappings became a normal routine and let's not forget the endless funerals of family and friends who were killed for no other reason other than having just a little more than some FARC thug.
I'm one of a multitude of Colombians who had no other option but to flee such violence. I recently visited and saw a vast improvement in security and overall progress. Like many Colombians, I support a hard stance against the terrorist forces of the FARC and I don't think any accord in Cuba will change things.
12
The car bombings and massacres you are referring to were committed by Pablo Escobar's Medellin cartel, not the FARC. The FARC was certainly protecting the coca fields, but that was while Escobar and others were funding the paramilitary groups with money from their control of cocaine and regional distribution networks. According to the U.S. State Department, the paramilitary groups were responsible for more than twice as many extrajudicial killings in the 1990s than the FARC. However, if you were from the elite or even the middle class, and avoided a car bomb, you were probably more affected by FARC kidnappers than paramilitary thugs dismembering their victims with chainsaws. The same can be said for Ernesto Londono, who seems to skip over the paramilitary massacres of Uraba of the late 1990s in his recollections of that time.
The FARC are murderers. Those two men in the interview should be arrested and convicted and given the death penalty. They kidnapped, tortured, and killed thousands of innocent civilians for their sick agenda as well as for money extortion. No Amnesty for those Killers.
11
It is the death penalty that is sick.
“Blanket amnesty is out of the question,” the government’s top negotiator, Sergio Jaramillo, said in an interview. “There has to be accountability.”
The government that says that probably does not mean accountability for the many gross crimes including slaughtering whole villages that were committed by the government and the rightwing paramilitaries that coordinated with the government.
This article mentions the many awful things done by FARC, but there were more and worse done by the government, which are not detailed here only mentioned in passing.
FARC arose out of government abuses, not out of thin air.
Peace is the right thing to do. That cannot include one side punishing the other for fighting.
The government that says that probably does not mean accountability for the many gross crimes including slaughtering whole villages that were committed by the government and the rightwing paramilitaries that coordinated with the government.
This article mentions the many awful things done by FARC, but there were more and worse done by the government, which are not detailed here only mentioned in passing.
FARC arose out of government abuses, not out of thin air.
Peace is the right thing to do. That cannot include one side punishing the other for fighting.
42
The FARC may have been "Marxist-inspired" early on, but they evolved into a criminal organization that abandoned any pretense of seeking political or social change in favor of ill-gotten lucre.
If delusional FARC leaders want to convince the rest of us that they were "guerrillas" fighting the good fight, then this "peace process" should yield a detailed accounting of good things the FARC did for others or positive changes they effected. Were there any?
If delusional FARC leaders want to convince the rest of us that they were "guerrillas" fighting the good fight, then this "peace process" should yield a detailed accounting of good things the FARC did for others or positive changes they effected. Were there any?
15
I agree with you 100%. In the late 90's at a time when the violence was at a high peak, the Pastrana administration attempted to work out issues with the FARC. All goodwill was derailed by the FARC when they proceeded to highjack an Avianca domestic flight, a group of tourists at a beach resort, and an entire church congregation--just to show they could. While all the captured civilians were released unharmed, it demonstrated just how the FARC was willing to "negotiate."
The FARC and a paramilitary group took turns punishing the villages situated away from big cities by taking young men and goods from the villages as punishment for having "cooperated" with one or the other terrorist group whenever that particular group came into the village and pillaged it.
A blanket amnesty sounds like a bad deal for the government and the country.
The FARC and a paramilitary group took turns punishing the villages situated away from big cities by taking young men and goods from the villages as punishment for having "cooperated" with one or the other terrorist group whenever that particular group came into the village and pillaged it.
A blanket amnesty sounds like a bad deal for the government and the country.
5
I do wonder about the author's thoughts about the rampant inequality. After all, in a tale of two cities, it appears he grew up in the shining city on a hill. The chaos on the wrong side of the railroad tracks were "four, six hours" off, "comfortably," until it was on their doorstep and inside their home. How did his family amass their wealth? As Balzac said, behind every great fortune there is a great crime. While FARC broke the law, there is a point where the oppressed feel they have no other realistic options. Or was the family mantra the Spanish equivalent of "let them eat cake?"
30
The most "comfortable" are those who can pontificate, quoting Balzac, questioning the right of people, thousands of miles away, not to be kidnapped, raped, dehumanized, or executed, merely because they are relatively well off in their country. It should not happen to anyone, even if they live in a community of multi-million $ homes, n'est-ce pas?
9
Kidnapping and extortion can never be condoned - there is nothing political about threatening to kidnap a two-year old child and putting a gun to a father's head. That's brutality and not "a realistic option."
12
I recently finished watching the telenovela "Pablo Escobar, El patron del Mal" on Univision. Escobar was, of course, one of the richest and most dangerous drug traffickers in history, and he dedicated much of his effort, which involved killing and bribing many many people, to the same goal that the FARC alumni apparently have ... to avoid getting extradited to the US for drug trafficking. It's hard to see why the US would drop criminal cases against people just because they were FARC members, any more than they would have dropped criminal cases against any other Colombian drug lords. a number of whom are sitting in US prisons right now as far as I know.
5
"It's hard to see why the US would drop criminal cases against people just because they were FARC members"
Making peace is a priority that requires such compromises with serious wrongs on both sides.
Making peace is a priority that requires such compromises with serious wrongs on both sides.
13
I have no problems welcoming the FARC into the political arena. In fact, we may even agree on a few things. But what haunts me is the very real uncertainty that exists regarding their willingness and ability to become fair, balanced and effective leaders of this nation. What path will they choose? Will it be Pepe Mujica's in Uruguay, or Dilma Rouseff's in Brazil? If so, please accelerate the peace process. But if it's Maduro's in Venezuela, it is hard not to be more hesitant. As a leader, you just have to be careful with variables like economic stability, even when you don't completely agree with some unfortunate realities. I'm afraid the FARC sees the peace process as a road to power, and once it gets there, democratically, will choose very unwise policies that we will all regret.
10
You maybe right.However, I do not share your assumption that the FARC, once they join the political process, will inevitably rise to power and implement ruinous policies. I guess I have more faith in the Colombian people's capacity to choose their political leaders. Perhaps I am too naive, but I have hope that after a half-century of violence and blooshed Colombians are ready to become a more democratic and just society. What do they have to loose by trying?
“I grew up in a house with two maids and attended a private American school where many of my classmates were dropped off in bulletproof cars packed with bodyguards.” As a Colombian, please let’s hear from the “real victims” of this civil war. Mr. Ernesto Londono was certainly not a victim, as he may want you to believe.
18
He and his family certainly were "victims"! They were held at gunpoint and threatened with the kidnapping of the two-year old daughter/sister. If that happened to me, I would certainly consider myself a "victim" - surely education and money should not matter when defining who's the "victim" of a criminal act!!
2
All Colombians who were not in the FARC were victims no matter the social status. The wealthy were particularly targeted for ransom or political pressure. You can't blame the wealthy for protecting their children.
1
MC New York, do you think there is a Colombian who can say he was not in any way a victim of the FARC? Doesn't growing up with daily fear qualify a child as a victim? It is true that some suffered more than others, but what the article shows is that most Colombians who are currently in their 30's grew up in an atmosphere of daily violence and tremendous fear.
1
I applaud the writer's open acknowledgement that his was a life of privilege however he did not expand on how his family came to be in the elite. Oppression of the masses has been common throughout South America and the forces that rise up against the wealthy are fighting against the families that were the equivalent of slave owners. The rich landowners and business owners of today are in that position because their forefathers were gun and sword wielding warlords with armed bands of followers.
Last century's gang of criminals that won are this century's genteel wealthy.
Comments about how FARC dealt drugs to fund their fight seem to ignore how the US Federal government used drug dealing to fund bands of armed fighters in other Latin countries. Selling guns and drugs so the business interests of American corporations are protected has been the policy of the US government for decades so we have no room for moral outrage over that. Where is our moral outrage over the centuries of feudal rule of so many in this the New World?
Last century's gang of criminals that won are this century's genteel wealthy.
Comments about how FARC dealt drugs to fund their fight seem to ignore how the US Federal government used drug dealing to fund bands of armed fighters in other Latin countries. Selling guns and drugs so the business interests of American corporations are protected has been the policy of the US government for decades so we have no room for moral outrage over that. Where is our moral outrage over the centuries of feudal rule of so many in this the New World?
47
I could never have any sympathy for FARC after reading Betancourt's book about being held hostage by them for years.
16
This is the sort of one-sided reportage one would expect from journalists from the country that pours billions of dollars of military aid each year into the Colombia in order to maintain the savagely unequal status quo.
We're told that "Colombian government officials are struggling to draw up a transitional justice framework that strikes the right balance", but various, credible sources indicate otherwise:
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/21/world/fg-abuses21
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-kovalik/us-colombia-cover-up-atro_b_52... http://www.alternet.org/story/75239/human_rights_atrocities_still_go_unp...
We're told that "Colombian government officials are struggling to draw up a transitional justice framework that strikes the right balance", but various, credible sources indicate otherwise:
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/aug/21/world/fg-abuses21
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-kovalik/us-colombia-cover-up-atro_b_52... http://www.alternet.org/story/75239/human_rights_atrocities_still_go_unp...
15
Thank you for posting the links to the other articles. It is important that all the facts get aired, not just the ones that support a convenient narrative.
3
The problems of the Colombian people are shared worldwide.
Without addressing and more importantly solving problems of financial inequality there will be no peace.
Overpopulation, legal discrimination and lack of honest education burden the poorest while lining the pockets of the wealthy.
Religious beliefs may bring a sense of comfort, but also inequitably divide actually doing little to help advance and much to hinder the impoverished.
Until financial, political, religious and military leaders worldwide stop working hand in glove to maintain the status quo only a few will benefit.
There are limits to exploitation and we have reached them.
Without addressing and more importantly solving problems of financial inequality there will be no peace.
Overpopulation, legal discrimination and lack of honest education burden the poorest while lining the pockets of the wealthy.
Religious beliefs may bring a sense of comfort, but also inequitably divide actually doing little to help advance and much to hinder the impoverished.
Until financial, political, religious and military leaders worldwide stop working hand in glove to maintain the status quo only a few will benefit.
There are limits to exploitation and we have reached them.
21
I've really enjoyed reading this article. It shows how complex the peace process in Colombia actually is. Though I personally think that violence must always be condemned and it should stop now. The inequality problem needs to be addressed simultaneously with the attempts to find a way to reconciliation. As Ernesto Londoño says, we have to have faith. It is our best hope.
7
The Farc were brought to the negotiation table , not by a desire to end a bloody conflict but pure necessity. After Hugo Chavez's death, they see Venezuela's days as a sanctuary uncertain. Cuba, their strongest ally, has decided to seek economic refuge in the US. The Farc are at a point were their numbers are decimated ( they once had 15,000 plus members. The last three top commanders were killed by the Colombian army when their communications system was compromised. It is infantile to believe that you can kidnap thousands of Colombians and pretend to go home after a ceremonial slap on the wrist. Most of these guerrillas have their roots in common crime and they know no other way to exist. They know they will never be safe walking down the streets of Colombia but they had no choice to negotiate because they are defeated.
18
The expulsion of the Farc members who are currently conducting their drug business in the Alto Orinoco region of Venezuela while terrorizing indigenous peoples there should be addressed by the negotiators as well and should also be a condition for any future agreement.
8
Many commenters indicate that they have sympathy and compassion for the people of Columbia who are the victims of FARC and who have suffered terribly in the conflict in their country. But, when these same Columbian victims come to the US to try to find asylum and a place to raise their children, they are not welcomed. Even children, some as young as 6, who found their way alone from Columbia to the US could find little sympathy when they finally arrived here. I remember seeing photographs of white Americans trying to stop buses that carried some of these children into the country. Many of those Americans had such looks of hatred on their faces it was chilling.
We would do well to remember that many of the "illegals" that we seem to hate so much come from places like Columbia because they have no choice. To stay in their own countries is not possible any longer. They fear for themselves and their children's lives. Americans have no concept of the kind of life many immigrants have left behind. We don't seem able to imagine what we might do if we were faced with the same choices. We cannot imagine the lengths we might go to in order to save our families. We're so anxious to pass judgment that we refuse to see that the people crossing our border are real human beings.
We would do well to remember that many of the "illegals" that we seem to hate so much come from places like Columbia because they have no choice. To stay in their own countries is not possible any longer. They fear for themselves and their children's lives. Americans have no concept of the kind of life many immigrants have left behind. We don't seem able to imagine what we might do if we were faced with the same choices. We cannot imagine the lengths we might go to in order to save our families. We're so anxious to pass judgment that we refuse to see that the people crossing our border are real human beings.
41
If drug trafficking continues to be such a profitable business, violence will not end in Colombia. Farc may sign peace, a symbolic peace as Julieta Lemaitre calls it, but then another group will emerge.
Second, a huge topic is that half of the country (the right) does not trust the Talks and are not willing to accept Santos and Farc treaty conditions. If the right (Uribistas, basically) don´t agree on joining this big ship, then another masacre like the one happened to the UP (Unión Patriotica) will repeat.
Tha whole country, or at leat the mayority, needs to be in the same mood, wich right now is not.
Second, a huge topic is that half of the country (the right) does not trust the Talks and are not willing to accept Santos and Farc treaty conditions. If the right (Uribistas, basically) don´t agree on joining this big ship, then another masacre like the one happened to the UP (Unión Patriotica) will repeat.
Tha whole country, or at leat the mayority, needs to be in the same mood, wich right now is not.
4
Great article and video. One small translation question: shouldn't "organización popular" be translated as "grassroots organization" in the video?
1
“These people have a different type of conscience,” he said, referring to the FARC. “They’re unable to speak a single truthful word.” Perhaps the shifting Colombian landscape will convert that conscience into a collective one. So that there is new opportunity everywhere -- and the accountability that supports it.
2
If only that were so. Ireland and Northern Ireland suffered similar issues once Good Friday Agreement was signed, and there has been no sizable shift in conscience, or accountability. Too much of the criminal activity has continued, too little accountability. The political participants take advantage of the greater need for peace, making demands with unspoken meaning that peace will go away of those demands are not met. It's very much walking on a high wire, hoping against hope that you get it right. What's disturbing is that I fear this gentleman is right, that they don't know how to speak the truth, and now using corporate speakese such as "retentions" instead of kidnap for ransom. Despicable.
5
This article, and the associated video, are remarkable. I found the comments by the FARC rebels, especially Marin, measured and powerful. However, their remarks on the sovereignity of Colombia and multinational corporations do not address the most powerful corporation of all, the international drug trade, and the role of FARC in supporting it. Similarly, their comments on the responsibility of existing power structures are phrased in Marxist terms, and included all the elite in Colombia -- government, land-owners, mass media -- but omit discussion of the silent hand of the United States in supporting these power structures.
4
Despite progress, Colombia's political and societal problems are far from being settled down.
First, peace negotiations between Juan Manuel Santos government -- member of Colombia's ruling families -- and FARC's is the first step to address deep ingrained income inequality and poverty problems.
The Andean country is another Mexico as far as wealth and political power concentration is concerned. Things must be still bad when thousands of Colombians seek refuge in Brazil.
Second, Colombia remains a country dominated by institutions influenced by drug cartels, narco dollars and violence. As long as American appetite for illegal drugs remains unabated, Colombian and Mexican narcotrafficker bands will remain in business.
In sum, as long as Colombia remains a divided country between a few winners and millions of losers, the political game of a false peace negotiation with FARC will only be played out in the corridors of Congress in DC.
First, peace negotiations between Juan Manuel Santos government -- member of Colombia's ruling families -- and FARC's is the first step to address deep ingrained income inequality and poverty problems.
The Andean country is another Mexico as far as wealth and political power concentration is concerned. Things must be still bad when thousands of Colombians seek refuge in Brazil.
Second, Colombia remains a country dominated by institutions influenced by drug cartels, narco dollars and violence. As long as American appetite for illegal drugs remains unabated, Colombian and Mexican narcotrafficker bands will remain in business.
In sum, as long as Colombia remains a divided country between a few winners and millions of losers, the political game of a false peace negotiation with FARC will only be played out in the corridors of Congress in DC.
23
It is for Columbia to choose. I don't see how punishing these people can improve Columbia's future.
2
FARC are psychopathic murderers. Nothing more. The two thugs in the interview should pay for their crimes.
14
"[mr marín] also brushed aside questions about the group’s role in drug trafficking, which has been well documented, and said he hoped the United States would roll back the criminal cases that would han[d] over FARC leaders after a peace agreement is signed."
the US should stop its selective war on drugs and focus instead on kidnappings and killings. violence is much worse than cocaine, especially when americans are buying the cocaine.
great reporting by the NYT.
the US should stop its selective war on drugs and focus instead on kidnappings and killings. violence is much worse than cocaine, especially when americans are buying the cocaine.
great reporting by the NYT.
19
I wish this column were balanced and included clear facts about the military and paramilitary horror inflicted on the people of El Salvador, supported by U.S. aid. Holding people accountable must hold government and army members accountable as well, in equal measure. For further reading, consider the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero and U.S. citizen Jean Donovan and the nuns raped and murdered by Salvadoran military death squads, which terrorized the less privileged in El Salvador.
22
Wait, this article is about Colombia, not El Salvador! By adding "balance" I assume you mean justification. By your logic, ALL rebel arocities are justified by the atrocities of ALL governments, even if they are in a different country!
11
The military and its cohorts did much the same in Colombia where the army killed people for looking too poor. FARC attempted to win by ballots instead of bullets once; they ran something like 2000 candidates from villages to the federal level. Almost all of them were murdered by paramiltary or off-duty military. They went back to war. The Colombian affair was a class war or revolution; the US should have stayed out but as in El Salvador and Guatemala, the US backed the privileged class against the 99%.
Yes, this is a new era for Colombians and we hope to make a deal. But, what is going to happen with the drug traffic? Are we ready for the next battles between the drug lords to see who is in charge of the business? Can we maintain the peace agreement without solving the drug trade? Are the United States and the International Community ready to finish the tragic war on drugs? If they are, we are ready to forgive and forget all the suffering that the guerrillas, the paramilitaries, the army and the corrupted politicians (almost all of them) had done to us, the ordinary people, the common citizens.
8
Perhaps it is easier to forgive and forget when your very young niece has not been kidnapped, raped and abused for 8 long months. Retention? What they did to her was barbaric and inhuman. May God forgive them because I cannot.
49
We just came back from Colombia about which we were warned before leaving. Luckily we only suffered from our unfamiliarity with "Colombian" time.
The country is so beautiful, and the people are so friendly, I hope things can get resolved somehow so that the large percentage of people who live in poverty there can get a shot at improving their living conditions...
Violence is always to be condemned and it should stop now. But the inequality problem needs to be addressed simultaneously with the attempts to find a way to reconciliation.
The country is so beautiful, and the people are so friendly, I hope things can get resolved somehow so that the large percentage of people who live in poverty there can get a shot at improving their living conditions...
Violence is always to be condemned and it should stop now. But the inequality problem needs to be addressed simultaneously with the attempts to find a way to reconciliation.
34
Great article. But the video in the New York Times web page is a must! Reading about the Farc members is one thing. But seeing them and listening to them is what gives you a real sense of the difficulties encountered in these negotiations. "They have a different conscience" says the article. And you get a sense of that different conscience in the video. What I believe most Colombians are wondering is whether or not we can trust them. And as far as I can see they have not yet given us sufficient evidence that they are trustworthy. But at this point, as Ernesto Londoño says, we have to have faith.... Faith is our best hope.
15
Excellent article, showing all the complexities of the peace process in Colombia. If it succeeds in spite of difficulties, Colombia will be an example to be followed elsewhere in our conflictive planet.
10
To even imagine an end to this brutal conflict spread across decades of violence almost seems utopian. I like the idea of all the actors appearing together for a collective pardon and a promise: never again.
8
Is consideration being given to a Truth and Reconciliation agreement like South Africa's?
27