Follow workers.org on
RED HOT: TRAYVON MARTIN
CHINA,
AFGHANISTAN, FIGHTING RACISM, OCCUPY WALL STREET,
PEOPLE'S POWER, SAVE OUR POST OFFICES, WOMEN, AFRICA,
LIBYA, WISCONSIN WORKERS FIGHT BACK, SUPPORT STATE & LOCAL WORKERS,
EGYPT, NORTH AFRICA & MIDDLE EAST,
STOP FBI REPRESSION, RESIST ARIZONA RACISM, NO TO FRACKING, DEFEND PUBLIC EDUCATION, ANTI-WAR,
HEALTH CARE,
CUBA, CLIMATE CHANGE,
JOBS JOBS JOBS,
STOP FORECLOSURES, IRAN,
IRAQ, CAPITALIST CRISIS,
IMMIGRANTS, LGBT, POLITICAL PRISONERS,
KOREA,
HONDURAS, HAITI,
SOCIALISM,
GAZA
|
|
Colombia's murder of FARC negotiator creates crisis in region
By
Berta Joubert-Ceci
Published Mar 13, 2008 9:21 PM
Now, more than ever, the effort to achieve a humanitarian exchange of prisoners
of war held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) for its
guerrilla members held in jails by the Colombian and U.S. governments is the
main road to peace with justice in that country.
A month ago it seemed possible. Now the Colombian military has bombed Ecuador
and massacred a group of FARC members, including the group’s main peace
negotiator, Raúl Reyes.
One thing is certain: the struggle of the Colombian people goes on, as was
demonstrated by mobilizations on March 6 against the crimes of the Colombian
state and for the victims of paramilitarism.
The Colombian group MOVICE—Movement of Victims of State
Crime—called the demonstrations. President Alvaro Uribe had falsely
accused the organizers of being guerrillas, which is like putting them on the
paramilitaries’ hit list. Over the past year, scandal has followed
scandal showing the ties between the Uribe government and these unofficial
death squads.
The call was responded to internationally. Demonstrations were held in
Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Brussels, Britain, Spain, France, Switzerland,
Australia, Chile, Brazil, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Canada and the United
States. In many countries there were protests in several cities. In the U.S.,
New York, Washington, Miami and Chicago had simultaneous actions.
In Colombia itself, the largest was in Bogotá and filled the Plaza
Simón Bolívar. Others took place in Cartagena, Bucaramanga,
Pereira, Manizales and Medellín.
These demonstrations came on the heel of a brutal incursion of the Colombian
military into Ecuador to massacre FARC guerrillas responsible for international
negotiations.
Colombia massacre in Ecuador
The Colombian Army and police crossed the border into Ecuador on March 1 to
bomb a FARC encampment. It was a deliberate action coordinated with Washington
to destroy any prospect of peace through the process of the humanitarian
exchange.
The main target was Raúl Reyes, the second in command of the FARC after
Manuel Marulanda. This was not accidental, since he was in charge of
negotiations for the exchange. Reyes was the contact person for talks about
peace negotiations with several governments—among them France, Ecuador,
Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Argentina—and with social and political
figures inside Colombia.
In fact, Reyes was working with the Ecuadoran government for the release of 12
people retained by the FARC. Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa corroborated
this: “I am sorry to communicate that the conversations were going
forward for the release in Ecuador of 12 hostages, among them Ingrid
Betancourt. Everything was frustrated by the warmonger and authoritarian hands;
we cannot discard that this was one of the motivations for the incursion and
attacks on the part of the enemies of peace.”
Ingrid Betancourt is a former presidential candidate in Colombia. Many sources
in Colombia say Uribe does not want to see her freed because she might compete
with him in the 2010 presidential elections.
Since Betancourt holds both Colombian and French citizenship, French President
Nicolas Sarkozy has been very involved in the negotiations for her release.
Precisely on the day that Reyes was killed, three envoys from the French
government were in Ecuador. They were getting ready to meet with him when they
received a call from Luis Carlos Restrepo, the “peace commissioner”
appointed by Uribe, warning them not to go to the meeting with Reyes because
they could “be in danger.”
New information—facts & fiction
Uribe lied blatantly to Correa and the world when his government announced that
the Colombian army fired at the FARC members only after the guerrillas shot at
them. Colombia had crossed the Ecuadoran border, bombed the camp and then sent
troops by land to “finish” the job.
When Ecuadoran soldiers went to investigate the site, they found a horrific
massacre: mutilated bodies were piled up and some scattered around. Except for
the three guerrillas guarding the camp, all were in sleeping garb and many had
bullet wounds in the back, showing they were killed in their sleep.
This illegal invasion of Ecuadoran territory has been condemned by most Latin
American countries.
So far 25 bodies have been found. In addition, the Colombian Army took away the
bodies of Raúl Reyes and Julián Conrado so the FARC could not bury
its comrades. Several bodies are still in an Ecuadoran morgue, unidentified.
Three injured women were left behind and subsequently taken to a hospital by
the Ecuadoran Army, among them a Mexican student who was conducting research
about the insurgent group. Several Mexicans who were not guerrillas were also
killed.
The Colombian government, loyal to the instructions of its U.S. boss, is acting
not only against the insurgency but also against the Bolivarian countries that
oppose U.S. hegemony. It claims its army found three computers used by Reyes in
perfect condition (after a bombing!) and that information in them compromises
Ecuador and Venezuela as financial supporters of the FARC.
Brief period of heightened tension
Ecuador, Venezuela and later Nicaragua broke diplomatic relations with Colombia
because of this aggression. Ecuador and Venezuela sent troops to their
respective borders with Colombia. Tension in the whole region increased and it
was feared that a regionalization of the Colombian conflict could explode,
engulfing several countries.
It is important to note that Colombia is the most militarized country in the
region. It gets advisers and technologically sophisticated war materiel from
the United States. It is not accidental that many in the region call Colombia
the Israel of Latin America; this recent action is reminiscent of
Israel’s attacks in Palestine and Lebanon.
On March 7, during the Rio Summit held in the Dominican Republic, Dominican
President Leonel Fernández pleaded with Uribe, Correa, Hugo Chávez
from Venezuela and Daniel Ortega from Nicaragua to discuss the issue and try to
diminish the tension, requesting that they “shake hands and
embrace.” Correa, in a very serious and dignified speech, then spelled
out all the infringements by Uribe’s administration upon Ecuador and
said, “We cannot talk with a president and a government who has no
credibility or sense of decency.”
After a clearly hypocritical speech from Uribe regretting the actions, tension
in the region was diminished. Both Venezuela and Nicaragua reestablished
diplomatic ties with Colombia. Correa said, “I am happy that this has
been solved, but what is the basic problem? .... [I]t is the Colombian
conflicts that are affecting neighboring countries. Ecuador is a victim of this
conflict.”
Handshakes or embraces do not solve the Colombian conflict; only the people
mobilized in struggle can do it.
Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World.
Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011
Email: [email protected]
Subscribe [email protected]
Support independent news DONATE
|
|