The situation of the war
Published in Cambio Magazine, December 5, 2008
Many people continue being forcefully displaced due to the armed conflict; most of them arrive to urban areas.
Photo: AFP
During 2008 Colombia's armed conflict evidenced high intensity. Some of the irregular groups received significant blows and transformed radically. The government, leaded by president Uribe, broke off negotiations with the paramilitaries and extradited 14 of their leaders to the United States; the scandal over links between paramilitaries and lawmakers, known in the local press as "parapolitics", involved all the parties that support the government and led the Congress to the worst crisis ever; Farc´s top commander and founder died and the organization endured other heavy blows: "Operation Check" plucked a group of hostages, that included Íngrid Betancourt and three American citizens, from the insurgents grasp, and several members of the central command were killed by the government forces; Eln broke off conversations with the government and focused on surviving by avoiding combats and reducing its operations, in an attitude that seeks to preserve their forces from the government offensive.
The government officials stated that the paramilitaries were something of the past and that Farc was defeated or, in words of the commander in chief of Colombia´s armed forces, Freddy Padilla de León, "in the end of the end". Nonetheless, local media reports, almost on a daily basis, actions of right wing paramilitaries that did not demobilize and of new criminal groups; Farc continue drawing attention in many regions and regained strength in some parts of the country; and the Eln keeps its presence and military effort in many areas.
People ask themselves what is the truth about the situation of the war. ¿Are we overcoming the conflict or is there still a long way to go before peace is reached? To answer this question Corporación Nuevo Arco Iris (New Rainbow Corporation), based on official information and fieldwork all over the country, carried out a meticulous research.
The conclusions are not very encouraging. The right wing paramilitaries that did not demobilize and the new groups that have emerged are growing and expanding rapidly. Farc has adjusted to continue fighting and are going to take advantage of the economic recession, changes in the United States and the burst of a social crisis in the south of the country due to the collapse of the "pyramids".
Like before
If we sum up the demobilized paramilitaries that have joined an armed group again, the ones that did not demobilize and the new groups that have appeared, we have, again, 10,200 combatants, spread in 102 groups that have 21 different names and presence in 246 municipalities. As the government says, the objective of many of these groups is drug trafficking, but most of them are showing many of the behaviors of their predecessors (the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia): they attack community organizations as well as civic and political leaders; try to influence local institutions and seek control over territories.
The "Black Eagles", for example, are located at the north and east of the country, have a counterinsurgency stance and benefit from the tolerance of a sector of the state's armed forces. In places like the National University this groups choose names that recall the old Self Defense Forces to threaten the students; like "Capital Bloc of the Black Eagles". It is possible that we are starting to live one of the scenarios that the National Commission for Reparation and Reconciliation foresaw some a years ago when it warned of the possibility of a third generation of paramilitary groups (see table of municipalities).
Besides the paramilitary phenomenon upsurge the so-called "parapolitics" is another issue that continues to be problematic. It is true that Justice is doing its duty and that, with great difficulty, has trialed 59 lawmakers, 23 former lawmakers and almost 300 regional politicians and Government officials. Those proceedings exposed seven agreements in which the commitments between political and paramilitary leaders were manifest -Ralito, Chivolo, Pivijai, Urabá, of Coordination, Magdalena Medio and Eje Cafetero-. Nonetheless, there have been no breakthroughs in establishing and sanctioning political responsibility.
None of the parties who have all of their lawmakers, or most of them, linked to judicial proceedings have disappeared -Convergencia Ciudadana, Colombia Viva, Alas Equipo Colombia, Colombia Democrática or Apertura Liberal- and the ones who have important members facing trial or in jail -La U, Pártido Conservador, Cambio Radical and Pártido Liberal- have not been punished. The "empty chair" sanction was not applied because president Uribe rejected the first project of political reform arguing that he would not lose the majorities that support him in Congress. In past elections, the five parties linked more closely to the "parapolitics" scandal presented 29,000 candidates and, despite the punishment of voters in some areas, managed to extend their influence to new areas and to maintain their local and regional power.
