[Gletkin]

Santos Announces Commission to Talk Peace with FARC
by Courtney Scott
Colombia Reports
Sept. 05, 2012

Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos announced Wednesday the names of the designated negotiators for peace talks between the government and largest guerrilla group FARC.

After announcing the formal peace dialogues Tuesday, Colombia's president took to the airwaves again, this time to announce the team that would be in charge of talking to the country's guerrilla group in the Norwegian capital of Oslo in October, and later in Cuba's capital Havana.

"The country can remain calm, we have very qualified people," said Santos as he claimed that they will work together in an efficient manner to reach peace.

The commission, led by the former Vice President Humberto de la Calle, will be comprised of representatives from the government, business and military sectors.
Jorge Enrique Mora - Former armed forces commander
Oscar Naranjo - Former National Police commander
Frank Pearl - Former Peace Commissioner under Alvaro Uribe
Sergio Jaramillo - Presidential Security Adviser
Luis Carlos Villegas - President of Colombia's Business Association

Enrique Santos, the president's brother who helped in the construction of the first phase of the process, will also be involved "in the background" of the table of negotiation, the president said.

The talks between the Colombian government and the rebel group are the first in ten years, after a failed attempt ended in 2002. Representatives of both warring parties have been negotiating secretly in Cuba over the past six months to clear the way for formal negotiations that must lead to the final end of the 48-year-old armed conflict.

Even if skeptics scorn this as being used by the FARC to buy time until they rebuild strength like they did the last time, the govt. has proved its staying power. If the FARC wants to fight forever, the govt. is perfectly willing to do so as well.
They should take this opportunity to do what M19 did 22 years ago.

[AndresSerrano]

With Norway, Cuba, Venezuela and Chile along as 'helpful partners', let us hope the talks get somewhere. The noise from the FARC, already, is that they have won a significant victory already by being recognized by the international community and that they are entering the negotiations to "win", whatever that means. Taking into account that they have morphed from a leftist guerrilla group to a band of pretty sophisticated narcos, and that donuts to dollars Iran is supplying werewithal via Venezuela, skepticism is prime. Let us all hope and pray this is for real. The Colombian people, who are rapidly advancing towards full development, despite the evil war, deserve to live in Peace after nigh on fifty years.

[Gletkin]

There's a growing consensus amongst LA leaders (I think I posted a thread on this topic) that this "War on Drugs" is a failure and bears rethinking.

Aside from that, if the govt. can continue the triple combo of economic development, political justice, and national security (that minimizes the victimization of innocents), the guerrilla insurgency is sure to go nowhere.

But if the wealth generated by that economic development fails to reach everyone (namely the poor) and if the failed War on Drugs continue, the "drug cartels" will still be a major issue even after the guerrillas are ever defeated (or as I said, the guerrillas may finally reject all political pretenses and become full-blown apolitical criminal gangs).

[AndresSerrano]

The drug problem in the Americas has ONE source: The huge market for drugs in the United States. The War on Drugs is unwinnable just like Prohibition was untenable. There are no ifs ands or buts. The second these drugs are legalized, the second they will drop in price, thus doing away with the incentives that are corroding the fabric of society everywhere. Does anybody really think that people are going to risk their lives for 15% margins and then taxes on top?, I don't think so. From a monster, coca leaves can be turned into a commodity like any other. Like with alcohol, its widespread availability through a highly regulated, highly taxed environment, will not be Armageddon, it will be, well, the end of all the death and suffering drug trafficking brings to ALL of us in America (that being the continent).
Do the peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC have anything to do with it? One would hope that reaching an accord will at least ease the intra gang murdering for control of the trade.

[Gletkin]

The drug problem in the Americas has ONE source: The huge market for drugs in the United States.

Well, I'm sure there's demand in other countries but yes, Americans definately have a voracious appetite for Andean nose candy.
It's been a decades old onerous demand of the Colossus of the North: political pressure combined with military aid that ends up with Latins killing each other over satisfying our insatiable demand for this product.

Do the peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC have anything to do with it?

Depends on how much our perception of them as "narcoguerrillas" is true.
If they're still would-be socialist revolutionaries, albeit somewhat corrupt ones, then no not really.

But even in that case I can still imagine demobbed ex-guerrillas getting back together to form apolitical gangs if peace doesn't come with enough prosperity for them.
The civil war will end, but drug-related violence will continue (unless the prohibition ends or us Yankees finally sober the fuck up).

[AndresSerrano]

Colombia already went through another peace process, sometime ago. I believe the group that handed in its toys was called the ELP and they then founded the M19 political group which lived for a while and then died a slow, lingering death. Literally, in a civil war, memories are long. If justice is not meted out to all, the relatives of the victims will not forget and forgive.
Colombia is a pretty amazing place. It has continued to develop itself despite the years of conflict. It makes neighboring Venezuela (which is of its relative size) look, not like a Latin American country but a country out of deepest Africa. Its democracy continues to thrive and grow, its infrastructure gets better by the year, economic inequality, while still VERY prevalent, continues to level off.
The sole act that will rescue Latin America from the drug scourge is the legalization of said drugs. Nothing else will stop the tax that northamericans (and alll druggies really) pay the narcos instead of paying it to their governments. It is as simple as that. We fight a "war" to control the flow of cash to narcos and the FARC - yes, they are absolutely and totally into drug exports- while instead we should be chasing tax dodgers. What would you think a druggie rather do? Buy his fix from some low life (and commie to boot ) of from the local Walmart?
On the subject of the talks, the opening gambits have started, FARC wants a cease fire (R and R, rearmament being in their plans) and Santos has said "no dice". These talks will follow the tried and true communist play book= extend, extend, extend. discuss the shape of the table, among other minutiae. In a few months Santos will throw up his hands and say "we tried", and the Colombian state will then force the issue by the use of arms.

[Gletkin]

Colombia already went through another peace process, sometime ago. I believe the group that handed in its toys was called the ELP and they then founded the M19 political group which lived for a while and then died a slow, lingering death.

No, those were two different groups.
The ELP changed its name to "Hope, Peace, and Liberty" (that way they got to keep their initials). But a hardline faction split away and continued to fight under the original name.
M-19 became something like "M-19 Democratic Alliance".
Whether or not they "die slow lingering deaths" is irrelevant. Any political party that fails to maintain sufficient popularity will of course fade away.

Although the current mayor of Bogota is a former member of M19.

Colombia is a pretty amazing place. It has continued to develop itself despite the years of conflict. It makes neighboring Venezuela (which is of its relative size) look, not like a Latin American country but a country out of deepest Africa. Its democracy continues to thrive and grow, its infrastructure gets better by the year, economic inequality, while still VERY prevalent, continues to level off.

Good...because it's that lack of democracy and wealth that gave rise to the guerrillas in the first place.
M19 and the ELP proved to have better political foresight when they accepted the peace deal back in 1990.
Granted, the FARC was burned by their bad experiences with the UP back in the eighties. A number of them accepted Betancur's peace deal and formed the UP only to be slaughtered by right-wing paramilitaries. But Santos isn't Betancur or Vargas...I think if he sees that the FARC is serious about laying down their arms, he'll take their security concerns regarding right-wing paramilitaries seriously.

But even so, the FARC, ELN, and ELP have no serious workable alternatives to the current status quo. In the face of both economic and political progress made by the incumbent regime, continued armed action is just spiteful political dogmatism of the worst kind. Spoil sports with a homicidal streak.
Besides, even Marxism preaches that capitalism is a necessary precondition for socialism. There are already Colombian leftist groups with socialist beliefs just as hardline as those of the guerrillas but at least even they see that "armed struggle" is counterproductive at this point.

On the subject of the talks, the opening gambits have started, FARC wants a cease fire (R and R, rearmament being in their plans) and Santos has said "no dice". These talks will follow the tried and true communist play book= extend, extend, extend. discuss the shape of the table, among other minutiae. In a few months Santos will throw up his hands and say "we tried", and the Colombian state will then force the issue by the use of arms.

Only time will tell. The FARC supposedly spoke of decommissioning by next month.
Hopefully it's true, but even if it's all BS, it's still a good decision by the govt. to try. As you said, they will have proven their willingness to give peace a chance.
Meanwhile, they've proven that they're just as patient as the guerrillas. The grim benefit of fighting a civil war instead of a foreign war is that you can't withdrawal when you get tired. Because the war is at home you have no choice but to see it to a conclusion.

But currrent conditions strongly favor accepting a peace deal. The economy is improving, politicians linked with paramilitaries and other abuses are being brought to justice. Even the DAS was disbanded. Plus the peace deal will most likely involve some sort of amnesty for ex-guerrillas.

A good life won't be guaranteed for all, but again, the guerrillas don't have a viable alternative. Sure they've proven that they can fight, but can they govern? In a new way that guarantees a vastly better life for all that in turn "justifies" continued bloodshed? Or will their reign be yet another road to hell paved with good intentions? So unless they want to prove to everyone else that they're incorrigible fanatics they'll end their "people's war".