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Declaration of the FARC- EP, Colombian Insurgency Movement
The Search For Peace, A Nation's Yearning
FARC-EP declaration, March 20, 1983.
"In the struggle for democratic peace in Colombia, we are facing very
powerful forces interested in war order to avoid national accord. We
know that foreign and national interests are moving these forces, we
know that they are calling on all possible pretexts to torpedo any
toward peace."
Democratic Opening, the
foundation for peace among Colombians.
FARC-EP declaration, March 20, 1983.
Ever since they began, the FARC-EP have been insisting on the
necessity for a political solution to Colombia's problems. We have
held high the banners of peace and maintained untiring willingness
to achieve it. Yet, the military sectors in and outside of the Armed
Forces, convinced that they can defeat the people and their
insurgent army, have imposed the military path.
They forget that all counter insurgency plans to date have failed - to
cite but a few examples: Villarrica, Marquetalia, Anori, and Casa
Verde.
In order to respond positively to the Colombians' yearning for
peace and a political solution to the social and armed conflict, the
FARC-EP have seriously begun the process of dialogues.
First we signed a cease fire and peace agreements in May 1984 with
Belisario Betancur's administration (1982-1986). The accords
committed the government to moving ahead with a number of
economic, political and social reforms that were subsequently never
fulfilled. The fruit of this process, the Patriotic Union, was and still
is the target of the bloodiest dirty war ever waged against a legal
political movement in the country.
The second attempt for dialogues took place during Cesar Gaviria's
administration (1990-94) in Caracas, Venezuela (June and
November of 1991) and later in Tlaxcala, Mexico (March-May of
1992). Unfortunately it was cut short with the government's
declaration of all out war. This meant that social protest from
different popular sectors of the country was henceforth considered
criminal activity, and State Terrorism was intensified.
In early 1995 Samper's administration had the opportunity to open
dialogues with the FARC-EP. However, disregarding the longings
of millions of Colombians clamoring for peace, Samper tipped the
scales in favor of war.
He opted for insisting on a military solution and obeyed General
Harold Bedoya's memorandum, which essentially prohibited the
president from clearing Urab? to initiate negotiations.
Samper's commitments to the Empire increasingly brings him to his
knees.
That, coupled with his commitments to the narcotraffickers that
financed his presidential campaign, led him to give power over to
militarism. It induced him to protect and legalize paramilitary
groups, convert military impunity into a constitutional right,
develop new ways of state terrorism like kidnaping and threatening
family members of the guerrilla, and to crassly hand over the
remains of our national sovereignty as a guarantee so he could
maintain his illegitimate government.
The Colombian state has no peace policy to counter its war policy.
Everyone must contribute to design, build, develop and impose a
peace policy as part of the legitimate right to peaceful coexistence;
a peace policy that will not be subject to the comings and goings
and political/electoral
commitments of the ruling government. A viable beginning with no
loopholes, not a mere dead letter like Article 22 of the National
Constitution.
As long as there is no State Peace Policy, it shall remain impossible
to conceive of a political solution to the nearly 50 year old social
and armed conflict. Our military action is not opportunist or
voluntary; it follows objective plans for the construction of a New
Colombia. We do not discard the search for negotiated solutions to
the profound crisis our country is suffering from, as a way of
avoiding wasting time and unnecessary suffering, and to save
precious lives. Still, we shall never abandon or renounce the
principles of our legitimate struggle, or our responsibility and
rights as Colombians.
"This is why," as we stressed in our last National Conference, "we
hold our arms and banners high - because today's problems are even
more serious than yesterday's, because the State's violent attitude
has systematically closed off spaces for peaceful democratic
action."
Against Imperialism...for our Country
Against the Oligarchy...for our People
Until the Victory...We are the FARC-EP.
E-mail: [email protected]
1997 - The Year of El Che
cThe reproduction, copy, distribution or retransmission of any
material included here is authorized when the source is
cited.
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