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Introducing her book
"I am my father's daughter"
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| COLOMBIA STILL IN SEARCH OF PEACE |
| Written by Maria Elena Salinas |
| Tuesday, December 20 2005 |
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| Colombian President Alvaro Uribe was elected in 2002 with the hope that he would bring peace to a country ravaged by four decades of armed conflict. He promised to do it by taking a hard-line stance against left-wing guerrilla groups, right-wing paramilitaries, murderous kidnapping rings and corrupt politicians alike.
In other words, the controversial Colombian leader has been an equal-opportunity hard-liner. But he claims the job is not done, and he is about to launch a campaign for re-election in 2006, a move made possible after Uribe spearheaded an amendment to the Colombian Constitution that ended a ban on presidents running for re- election.
Although Uribe's tough rhetoric has won him high approval ratings, Colombia remains a country in turmoil. The peace Colombians have so desperately been waiting for is nowhere near, and violent acts are still the norm.
Amnesty International reports that in 2004, more than 2,500 civilians were killed, 1,250 were kidnapped and 287,000 were forced out of their homes. The government says the number of kidnappings was reduced significantly in 2005, but the killings keep mounting. The watchdog organization País Libre reports that out of 600 kidnappings in 2005, at least 140 of those kidnapped died in captivity.
In May of 2005, rebels from the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) shot to death five council members and the secretary of the council in the town of Puerto Rico in the state of Caquetá.
In October, 80 people died in a battle between rebels and paramilitary forces in the state of Chocó. Yet it wasn't ideology they were fighting over, but control of the lucrative business of drug trafficking, which the government has not been able to control either.
Both the FARC and the paramilitaries are deeply involved in drug trafficking, and a new report by the Government Accountability Office says the billions of dollars the United States has poured into the drug interdiction program known as Plan Colombia has not reduced the production of cocaine.
In short, the violence continues. The list of massacres, kidnappings, terrorist attacks and battles with powerful weapons continues to grow. The Colombian army's so-called Patriot Plan has produced only partial results. While they have successfully cornered many of the rebel leaders in the war against terrorism, they have not been able to capture them, and innocent lives continue to be lost. Not even the aid provided by the United States has been able to curtail the violent groups.
The Patriot Plan mobilized about 18,000 men in the rugged areas of the Caquetá and Putumayo regions, but up to now the only significant arrest has been that of Nayibe Rojas, alias "Sonia," considered a key figure in the bookkeeping and drug trafficking for the FARC. Sonia was extradited to the United States, where she has been linked to the shipment of more than 600 tons of cocaine into the country.
Of the 5,000 or so people held in captivity by both left- and right-wing armed groups, 59 are political figures, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. There are also police officers and military personnel whom the rebels have offered to release in exchange for the release of jailed guerrilla members. Uribe, ever the hard-liner, has refused the deal — until now. Word has it that he is proposing a deal with the FARC in which he will demilitarize 180 kilometers to begin talks on the possible exchange. Also, representatives of the government are meeting this week in Havana with leaders of the ELN, a smaller but not less dangerous guerrilla group, in hopes of finding common ground for a peace accord.
Trying to give a positive spin to his peace efforts, Uribe points to the fact that he has demobilized more than 11,000 men from the paramilitary group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. State Department. While the demobilization is true, there are a similar number of armed paramilitary men out there still taking innocent lives.
Colombia's presidential election will take place next May, and the campaign will officially begin at the end of January. For now, Uribe continues to make the same promise of fighting the illegal armed groups, but results are tepid, and time is running out.
It is possible that Colombians will give him a vote of confidence. The question is whether or not four more years will bring the country closer to the much-sought-after peace. The country can no longer afford to continue shedding blood. Colombians deserve more than that. |
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