Winds of War in the Andes: Bad News for Civilians
Those who follow Colombian affairs know well that life there is anything but boring. Kevin Coulombe, a Canadian volunteer in our Colombia Peace Presence team told me yesterday "One day in Colombia is like one year in Canada." In Colombia, amazing events happen all the time and at a speed that often leave you breathless. So, I can't say that the current Andean crisis, with ambassadors expelled, embassies closed, tanks and troops moved to the border is that extraordinary. Do you remember when the now all but forgotten para-politics scandal broke? Now 20% of the members of Colombian congress are under criminal investigation for ties with the right wing paramilitary death squads.
Granted, the latest impasse is not that extraordinary, however it is very worrisome. For those who don't know what I am talking about, let me explain: on Saturday morning, Colombia bombed a FARC guerrilla camp, killing the second highest ranking rebel leader, Raul Reyes. This fact wouldn't be that extraordinary, except for the fact that the strike took place in Ecuadorian territory. The Ecuadorian government wasn't alerted to the military attack, even though it lasted almost seven hours. Colombia first tried to justify its incursion into Ecuador claiming that it was a case of "hot pursuit," and had entered into Ecuador because they were being fired at by guerrillas trying to hide across the border. That excuse was proven false upon inspection of the scene: after Ecuadorian troops went to retrieve the bodies of the deceased guerrilla and three wounded women, Ecuadorian president Correa was furious, saying its government had been lied to, that the bombing had been a "massacre," the attack planned in advance and the guerrillas killed while sleeping — after all they were found wearing their pajamas. Consequently, President Correa expelled the Colombian ambassador to Ecuador. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, deeming Colombian actions as an unacceptable attack to peace in South America, insulted Colombian president Uribe, calling him names, and closed its embassy in Bogotá.
Colombia then fired back. The head of the Colombian police, general Padilla, went to the media claiming that at the FARC camp, they had found computers with evidence showing that both Ecuador and Venezuela governments were actively supporting FARC. According to Gen Padilla, FARC provided training to the Ecuadorian border communities and Venezuela gave US$300 million to FARC in military assistance.
This unfortunate episode moves Colombia further away from the path of political negotiation that would end a war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and suffering over the last five decades. It makes people believe that a solution to the Colombian conflict can be achieved through military means, even though the reality has proven otherwise: since the US backed the Marquetalia carpet bombing operation in 1964, during the first days of the FARC’s existence, guerrillas have been able to bounce back. It is no wonder then, that as long as the underlying causes of insurgency are not addressed, the army can kill all the combatants in the world, but there always be people willing to take up arms. In the meantime, unarmed civilians are the ones paying the bulk of the price, with their lives. They are the ones behind the statistics that make Colombia the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere: they are the 4 million internally displaced, the 90,000 victims of the paramilitaries, 15,000 disappeared, the 3,500 massacres since 1982.
Neither do the latest events help those who are trying to build an alternative, progressive, more humane and just model in Latin America. The US has announced its total backing of Colombia. The inflammatory language used by Venezuelan president Chavez against Colombian president Uribe coupled with moving war tanks to the border are a reminiscence of the Cold War, when the super powers fought proxy wars in other countries.
This climate does not favor the work of human rights defenders, of women’s, indigenous and youth organizations, of grassroots organizations that advocate for non-violence and strive for justice and an end to impunity. Nor does it allow for dissent. It will require additional courage to come forward in solidarity with the victims of the Colombian conflict. However there is an opportunity do so, in the March 6th global mobilization in favor of Colombia’s victims. We, in San Francisco, will be present.
Granted, the latest impasse is not that extraordinary, however it is very worrisome. For those who don't know what I am talking about, let me explain: on Saturday morning, Colombia bombed a FARC guerrilla camp, killing the second highest ranking rebel leader, Raul Reyes. This fact wouldn't be that extraordinary, except for the fact that the strike took place in Ecuadorian territory. The Ecuadorian government wasn't alerted to the military attack, even though it lasted almost seven hours. Colombia first tried to justify its incursion into Ecuador claiming that it was a case of "hot pursuit," and had entered into Ecuador because they were being fired at by guerrillas trying to hide across the border. That excuse was proven false upon inspection of the scene: after Ecuadorian troops went to retrieve the bodies of the deceased guerrilla and three wounded women, Ecuadorian president Correa was furious, saying its government had been lied to, that the bombing had been a "massacre," the attack planned in advance and the guerrillas killed while sleeping — after all they were found wearing their pajamas. Consequently, President Correa expelled the Colombian ambassador to Ecuador. Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, deeming Colombian actions as an unacceptable attack to peace in South America, insulted Colombian president Uribe, calling him names, and closed its embassy in Bogotá.
Colombia then fired back. The head of the Colombian police, general Padilla, went to the media claiming that at the FARC camp, they had found computers with evidence showing that both Ecuador and Venezuela governments were actively supporting FARC. According to Gen Padilla, FARC provided training to the Ecuadorian border communities and Venezuela gave US$300 million to FARC in military assistance.
This unfortunate episode moves Colombia further away from the path of political negotiation that would end a war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and suffering over the last five decades. It makes people believe that a solution to the Colombian conflict can be achieved through military means, even though the reality has proven otherwise: since the US backed the Marquetalia carpet bombing operation in 1964, during the first days of the FARC’s existence, guerrillas have been able to bounce back. It is no wonder then, that as long as the underlying causes of insurgency are not addressed, the army can kill all the combatants in the world, but there always be people willing to take up arms. In the meantime, unarmed civilians are the ones paying the bulk of the price, with their lives. They are the ones behind the statistics that make Colombia the worst humanitarian crisis in the Western Hemisphere: they are the 4 million internally displaced, the 90,000 victims of the paramilitaries, 15,000 disappeared, the 3,500 massacres since 1982.
Neither do the latest events help those who are trying to build an alternative, progressive, more humane and just model in Latin America. The US has announced its total backing of Colombia. The inflammatory language used by Venezuelan president Chavez against Colombian president Uribe coupled with moving war tanks to the border are a reminiscence of the Cold War, when the super powers fought proxy wars in other countries.
This climate does not favor the work of human rights defenders, of women’s, indigenous and youth organizations, of grassroots organizations that advocate for non-violence and strive for justice and an end to impunity. Nor does it allow for dissent. It will require additional courage to come forward in solidarity with the victims of the Colombian conflict. However there is an opportunity do so, in the March 6th global mobilization in favor of Colombia’s victims. We, in San Francisco, will be present.
