Bogota (dpa) – Colombia for most people brings to mind cocaine, drug bosses and
the Cali cartel. But this land between Venezuela and Ecuador also has a less
than enviable reputation in another sector: Nowhere else on earth do more
people die a violent death.
Almost 40 years of civil war, the nefarious and often violent activities of the
various narcotic gangs in the country and rampant corruption have all played
their part in giving the impression that Colombia is ungovernable.
However, for the last two years, President Andres Pastrana has been making it
his goal to clean up the country.
Pastrana’s prime objective has been to stop the civil war, an objective which –
in the face of the numerous guerrilla groups and rightist death squads – could
be compared to walking a tightrope without a safety net.
But the 45-year-old lawyer, who enjoys the reputation of being a Mr. Clean in
Colombia, seems to be making some headway. “We have progressed further in the
last two years than in the past 40 years put together,” said Victorio G.
Ricardo, appointed by Pastrano for questions of peace.
For the first time ever there is talk of an armistice – or at least a
ceasefire – between guerrillas and government.
Ricardo’s optimism is based principally on the negotiations started at the
beginning of last year between government and the largest of the guerrilla
groups, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Pastrana’s
surprising election victory in the summer of 1998 was partly made possible by
support from the leftist orientated FARC rebels.
After taking office, Pastrana allocated the FARC an area as big as Switzerland
in the jungle of southern Colombia where the rebels virtually manage their own
affairs of state, an experiment to date unique in the world.
Pastrana achieved another breakthrough recently: The second largest of the
guerrilla groups in the country, the National Liberation Force (ELN) is also to
be allocated a “cleared zone” in the north of the country.
With this move, the president is attempting to involve the ELN in political
negotiations similar to those being conducted with the FARC. Up to now
government representatives have only met with ELN members in Cuba and
Venezuela.
Government withdrawal from certain parts of the country has been the greatest
single sacrifice Pastrana has made in the peace process and his political
survival depends on the success of the negotiations with the guerrillas, talks
which are made no easier by the warlike activities of the rebels.
As members of the FARC hold talks with government representatives at plastic
tables in jungle clearings, their colleagues at arms continue to kidnap public
personalities, press-gang under-age youths into their ranks and cripple large
parts of the country by attacking and blowing up power masts. The ELN also
engages in similar tactics.
But it would seem there are grounds for careful optimism. Currently
representatives of both industry and commerce and the trades unions are
exchanging suggestions and demands for stimulating the economy and creating
jobs. This is but one point in a long list of topics for discussion with the
rebels.
However, Jose Luis Ramirez, professor for international relations at the
University of Rosario and adviser at the U.N. Human Rights office in Bogota,
regards these developments with some scepticism. “Pastrana has given in too
often,” says Ramirez.
According to polls, less than a third of Colombians agrees with the politics of
their president and a just as few believe in the chances of success in the
peace process.
Pastrana’s “Plan Colombia”, however, is aimed at the outside world. The
president hopes that a programme of political and economic reform will attract
capital from abroad and strengthen his negotiating position with the
guerrillas. The official line is that this capital will be used to combat the
drug mafia in the country and also stimulate Colombia’s stagnating
economy.
But one stumbling block on the way to peace are the so-called self defence
groups, which are still excluded from the peace negotiations. “The
paramilitaries are like a hot potato,” says Ramirez. “Up to now no-one has
dared to tackle them.” Almost 70 per cent of human rights violations in
Colombia can be attributed to these death squads, who often work hand in glove
with the army.
The FARC has threatened to break off talks should Pastrana recognise the
paramilitaries as legitimate negotiating partners – which would de facto mean
the end of President Andres Pastrana’s daring tightrope act.
