Colombia is at a pivotal moment in history, poised to end a civil war that’s lasted over 50 years, killed 220,000, and left thousands on both sides disabled, kidnapped, and tortured. Despite failed peace talks in the past, most recently between 1999 and 2000, both sides appear to be very serious.
Current President Juan Manuel Santos won last summer’s election largely on a peace platform. Political capital from that voter mandate have pushed negotiations despite opposition. The FARC, for their part, have already given concrete concession, releasing a capture general last years despite no agreement for a cease fire. They’ve also replaced their military offensives with a political one, announcing a unilateral ceasefire and taking to YouTube to air a series of election-style adds.
Ongoing talks in Havana between the Government and the FARC have already brought both sides to agreement on three shared goals:
Political participation: FARC militants are willing to lay down their arms as long as they can participate in Colombian elections.
Agrarian reform: For the FARC, a socialist revolutionary movement, a key piece of policy is rural development, including land appropriations for peasant farmers.
Drug trafficking: One of the government’s biggest priorities is to diminish the powerful drug trade that has destabilized the country. The FARC have been active in drug trafficking, which they saw as a necessary evil to fund their armed insurgency.
Snags In The Peace Process: Internal Dissent, Kidnappings, and a Ceasefire
Despite Santo’s mandate from voters, ex-president Alvaro Uribe has spoken out against peace talks, which he believes will lead to amnesty for FARC leaders. He’s taking his arguments abroad, announcing that he will travel to Washington D.C. this week to meet with American representatives from both parties as well as, tentatively, Barack Obama. Expect to U.S. leaders to weigh in on Colombia’s peace talks in the coming weeks.
Washington has long supported Colombia’s wars against the FARC as well as drug cartels, but proposed cutting funding in 2015. Santos has also broken with Washington on the Drug War issue by considering legalization of drugs after decades of failed enforcement policies. Colombia has 2nd largest defense budget in Latin America but ranks 11th in human development.
Uribe was recently put on the defensive after one of his main political allies was accused of spying. Maria del Pilar Hurtado, his former intelligence chief was arrested in Panama and repatriated to Colombia in connection with alleged wiretapping and spying of political opponents including politicians and journalists. Uribe is also accused of ordering the Aro massacre. He complains that his allies are targets of a political witch hunt.
Kidnappings have long been a tactic of the FARC in it’s war against the government, especially in the 1990s. From 1996 to 2005, an average of eight people were kidnapped in Colombia every day. Some of those kidnapped were political opponents and prisoners of war, but thousands were for ransom schemes used to fund revolutionary operations. Despite announcing the end of kidnappings in 2012, some commanders ignored the policy and the FARC still holds some prisoners.
During the early stages of the peace talks, the government opposed the idea of a ceasefire, saying it would help the rebels too much, and that they’d rather conduct the talks regardless of conditions in the battlefield. They changed their tune when a top general was captured in late 2014, and immediately called off the talks. The FARC released the general, and peace talks resumed.
"It's time for a bilateral ceasefire, for armistice, so that no bellicose happening in the battlefield justifies interrupting such a beautiful and historic process like that of agreeing peace for a nation which longs for this destiny," said the FARC in a statement following the general’s release. In January 2015, Santos publically endoresed a bilateral cease-fire, but it’s yet to be implemented.
Miss Universe The Rescue?
After Colombian pretty person Paulina Vega won the Miss Universe contest last month, the FARC published a brief open letter inviting her to Havana to participate in the peace talks.
“We [...] invite you to materialize your visit to update you about the development of the peace talks, the progress and the enormous contribution that you and the majorities who desire peace can make. Be assured that we are willing to address your concerns and consider your views a valuable contribution to peace; we are waiting for your confirmation and your contribution.”
Vega responded to the letter with a quick “yes” to a visit.
"I remain ready and willing to assist in any and all areas that will help promote further peace, stability and progress," Vega said in an emailed statement. “The security of my country and peace within our borders remains a very big concern for me, my family, and all Colombians."
As to sharing her views and concerns, the model took a pass.
"That said, the main representative of Colombia is President Santos. If he and the Colombian government think I can be of any help, I remain ready," she added.
No date has been set for Vega’s visit, and the Colombian government’s negotiators have not yet said whether or not they will welcome her at the talks.
Could a beauty queen help smooth over a 50-year civil war?
“It’s a bad idea to take someone who won a beauty contest mostly for being pretty to discuss a really important situation,” said Ana Marcela Botero, a 23-year-old architect from Pereira, Colombia, quoted in the Daily Beast. “But who knows, maybe it could bring more worldwide attention to the issue.”
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