In Colombia, many hoped that Obama would free the FARC commander Simón Trinidad as a sign of his trust in and contribution to the peace process. One thing is to harbour the hope that it happens, quite another to trust the US government.
Colombia: Drugs and Peace
By Gearóid ó Loingsigh
The fourth point of both versions of the Final Peace Accord deals with the issue of drugs and illicit crops. The issue hasn’t received as much attention in Colombia or discussion as the other points. But it is worth looking at, if Colombia changes as a result of this process, one of the aspects in which we could easily measure progress would be on this point.
The Wave of Killings and Peace in Colombia – By Gearóid Ó Loingsigh
The human rights and social organisations have expressed their concern and consternation in the wake of the recent wave of murders of social leaders in the country just when it seems that we are at the end of the peace process with the FARC and about to begin implementing the accords.
Renegotiating the Accord: The silence of the Left: Renegotiating is in fashion. The President-Elect of the USA, Donald Trump, threatens to renegotiate everything, o just simply burn all the agreements signed by the country. But the Colombian Right beat him to it. After their victory in the plebiscite, Uribe and the evangelical pastors, amongst others, did not waste any time in demanding to renegotiate what had been agreed upon
By: Alfonso Insuasty Rodriguez*
This is a good opportunity to build the agenda from the bottom up, strengthen the local organizations and the advocacy groups, all of which translates into a stronger democracy.
Colombia: Government and rebels ELN will start peace talks in october 27.
The first topic of the dialogue will be the participation of society in building peace, and the sub theme of humanitarian accords for peace.
By Gearóid Ó Loingsigh.
Without a doubt, the victory of the No side in the plebiscite on the 2nd of October came as a surprise to many, including the No campaign. It represents a multiple defeat, on the one hand Santos was defeated at the ballot box, the Final Accord was defeated as were the FARC. The defeat is not the same in each case.
What type of peace awaits us? What is the scope of that peace? And, is the Left really thinking of continuing to struggle after the signing of the peace accord? These are questions that should concern us. The declarations made in Havana by the FARC commander give us some clue as to what they are thinking and the path they intend taking.
It must be made clear, however, that while this important agreement is the beginning of the end of the war with the FARC, it is not so with the ELN and the EPL who have publicly expressed their decision to dialogue towards a similar agreement, without the government taking any action on the issue.
By John Jairo Junieles
I have experienced death at close range seven times, the last time being when a young hit man, walking in front of me, shot a diner three times at a restaurant in a plaza in Cartagena. He threw the gun, which fell to the ground, turned around, walked past me with his black cap and peered at me from under the visor. A few steps further on, it was I who turned out of curiosity and saw a young woman screaming as she hugged the body. In the distance the young man slowly walked away. Perhaps the good luck I had that day was inordinate, since others living similar or more egregious things might not have such good fortune. Our war has many ways of expressing itself.
During the course of the mobilisation, Willington Quibarecama Nequirucama, a 26 year old indigenous man, died “on arrival at emergency health facilities after a trauma to the head caused by a collision with a van”, according to local reports
By Gearóid Ó Loingsigh
George Orwell made the concept of doublethink famous – The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them..– and – newspeak- reducing a language to its most basic elements with the aim of controlling the ability to express oneself – that truth was a lie, war was peace and nothing was what it seemed. We are used to these concepts and the use and abuse of language by the North American Empire, the media, companies and the academic world is usually denounced. But nothing is said about the abuse of language by the NGOs and the peace show business that accompanies them. Here I will try to deal with that abuse of language.
The other points in these negotiations are: “Democracy for peace”, “Transformations for peace”, “Victims”, “security for peace and disarmament” and “guarantees for exercising political action”
The beginning of the public phase of talks between the Colombian government and the ELN offers up great challenges and opportunities for citizen participation in the peace process.
Negotiations with the ELN could prove to be more complex than those launched in 2012 with the FARC in Cuba given the civil society involvement integrated into the agenda and the fact that civil society has its own political agenda vis a vis the talks: a bilateral ceasefire, the dismantling of paramilitary structures (which in the course of 2016 have already been responsible for the assassination of 19 human rights defenders and environmental activists).
Colombia Peace 
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