MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
FARC leader doubts the peace accord can be signed this year
Colombia is unlikely to sign a peace accord with Marxist rebels this year as the remaining items on the negotiating agenda are complex and time consuming, FARC guerrilla leader Rodrigo Londoño said. Read full article
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Disclaimer & comment rulesThat's alright. Santos has a long mandate in front of him.
Aug 13th, 2014 - 03:19 am - Link - Report abuse 0Potentially longer than Londoño's life.... who knows!
There is no way they will reach a peace agreement. Santos already got reelected and violence is now re emerging the FARC has used precious time to regain strength and land.. This outcome was so predictable when the Colombians re elected Santos.
Aug 13th, 2014 - 05:30 am - Link - Report abuse 0CabezaDura you don't offer any other options, but only criticise what is happening.
Aug 13th, 2014 - 07:14 am - Link - Report abuse 0What other options could Santos possibly do? He has already killed SEVEN FARC leaders during his presidency.
Colombia is booming. It has the second highest growth in South America. Low inflation. It's homicide rate is now lower than Venezuela's. It has booming investment in infrastructure and employment is moving from the informal to formal economy. If you had been there like I have, you would notice that there is massive investment in infrastructure - the Transmilenio is being continually extended and El Dorado airport has pretty much been rebuilt from scratch.
Of course FARC are trying to stall and wait this out but everything they do doesn't stop the progress.
FARC are the past. They have not been defeated by FIFTY years of armed conflict. These peace talks STARTED in August 2012. That is only 2 years ago. For some unknown reason you expect 50 years of conflict to be suddenly solved in 2 years of talks?
The fact that these talks are so thorough and that the government refuses to bow down to expedite them is a good sign. You take every setback as a failure while I see it as nothing more than the setback it is.
Santos has not killed 7 “leaders” during his presidency. The FARC are a vertical hierarchical organization.
Aug 13th, 2014 - 03:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You should read again what I told you on June the 16th.
“Do you know Anglotino how Dos Santos (not one Santos in Colombia) in Angola put a end to the decade long civil war in Angola even a decade after the Cubans and SADF left ??
UNITA was only put to rest after they were internationally isolated, had no allies in South Africa and Namibia, the blood diamonds trade was tackled globally and the leadership of UNITA was fragmented and left Jonas Savimbi by himself and possibly betrayed him to the gov't forces. Shortly after his death UNITA rebellion finished the next year.
All these components are lacking in the FARC negotiations. They have allies in Ecuador Cuba and Venezuela, there is no UNSC resolution against cocaine there is no Kimberly process certification scheme on cocaine. There is countries where they can hide, arm and re supply themselves. And there income is intact by kidnappings and drugs.
You have to be very naive to believe that the terrorist will change in consequential and real political power in exchange for military power.
The Colombian cowards have thrown overboard all the sacrifices and endurances of the Uribe years last night.”
One size does not fit all.
Aug 13th, 2014 - 10:26 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Colombia is in a peace process. I will repeat for the umpteenth time, fighting them has not 'won' the war for 50 years. You are bereft of ideas so can only fall back on the idea that has failed for 50 years.
I'm willing to give an idea that is less than 2 years old a go. And so are many Colombians. Uribe didn't win the war either. Seems he just needed more time.
But for some unknown reason Santos isn't allowed the same leeway.
Some months ago it was about giving peace a chance bla bla bla, now the attacks are back, http://www.eldiariony.com/renewed-wave-of-farc-violence-puts-colombia-peace-negotiations-in-peril and it appears FARC are back to 10.000 strong ( in 2010 they were less than 8.000 when Uribe left) and Lodoño is saying he is skeptical of agreeing on a deal this year.
Aug 13th, 2014 - 11:42 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The history of Colombia in the last 50 years is not of perpetual civil war but of cycles of war peace negotiations, failures of them and renewed conflict.
Colombia after the failure of the Pastrana negotiations was about to become a Somalia, a complete failed state… Two things prevented it so in the nick of time.
*9/11 → US war on terror → More American money and military assistance for the Plan Colombia
*The arrival of Uribe to the presidency.
There is no such thing as negotiating a “peace process” with a terrorist organization like FARC or the ELN, what you may negotiate at most is the surrender conditions. Otherwise you have to trade with the FARC political power and impunity for the top dogs in exchange for them to put down their weapons. And what about the lucrative business of narco-trafficking and kidnappings?? If FARC goes political will it lose these incomes??
Do you think that the talks in La Habana are about rural land reform or participation in politics or any of that crap??
FYI the Zuluaga vote remained the same in % terms; it’s a compromised loyal and more educated vote. Santos won the ballotage with a World cup win over easy Greece and did well in a very easy first phase.
What I said to Ilsen some months ago is that I personally trust and prefer leaders that make enemies and stand their ground. Uribe is not an easy guy to come by in Latinamerican politics, Santos is pretty much average. As Churchill said “You have made enemies in life, good that means you have stood for something” That is the difference between Santos and Uribe.
Uribe cannot get reelected. The cult where a leader tries to perpetuate his power and governance through another person is unfortunately much too common in Latin America. Colombia doesn't need Uribismo.
Aug 14th, 2014 - 10:45 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Urine tried to rule through Santos and when Santos didn't allow it, Uribe spat the dummy and as an ex-president turned on him and actively tried to undermine him. He then tried to recapture the presidency through Zuluaga.
The FARC are doing what they have been doing for 50 years because they see no other option. You don't offer any other option. Neither does Uribe, Santos does.
It takes a change in mindset to move on. It is why Argentina is stuck with Peronism because no one has come along with a different idea that they have the conviction to see through no matter what the pain is.
The FARC are attacking and recruiting. So what. That is what they always do. The fact that Santos won't give them a ceasefire while they negotiate shows that he knows they would as well. No one has ever defeated FARC militarily so your path is just as unsuccessful as mine so far.
Anglotino you are Australian. You will never understand Latin-American politics and Latin-American way of thinking, no matter how many times you come as a tourist going to gay bars in Santiago city and such.
Aug 14th, 2014 - 11:31 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You are not accepting the facts either. Uribe managed to put the FARC at a record low point in 50 years of civil war in 2010, and he inherited a country that was about to fall apart. The FARC had 26 k strong guerilla group, the paramilitary forces had round about 31 k strong which he successfully demobilized and left the FARC with only 8000 men.
Again I have to repeat to you that Santos was elected in a platform of Uribism not on the proposals that had failed Colombia many times before; war- stalemates-peace process- failure and renewed war.
You are looking at this from 2010 onwards.
So Santos is the old thing, Uribe was the new for Colombia. Trends are already written on the wall. Let the naive follow the same old road that has failed before.
Have you seen Uribe fight against the UNASUR hyenas of Latam in the Rio Summit or in Bariloche…?? That is called balls. That is all that Santos lacks. Get it into your head. He doesn’t have what it takes.
Uribe has being always very clear.
You have to go and fight them in the jungle, bomb Venezuela and Ecuador where they hide the times that it is necessary and force them to demobilize large amounts of FARC troops weakening the leaders. You just have to continue the Uribe policies which he was supposed to continue and voted for in the first place. Now its to late and the cowards fell for the same mistake they have fallen too so many times before and they will pay with blood and tragedy again for their stupidity and cowardice. That is what history shoes and that is how the world works.
At the end of the day it is a matter of principles.
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