CPTnet
4 February 2008
COLOMBIA: A False Dilemma--to march or not to march in protest against the FARC


Many people have heard the international call to march on 4 February 2008 against the guerilla group FARC (<http://www.colombiasoyyo.org/english.html>). In Barrancabermeja, the Human Rights Workers Coalition (Espacio) paints a complex picture of the current conflict in Colombia, in response to the dangerous oversimplification of issues presented by organizers of the event. Following the lead of these local partners, CPT Colombia will not participate in the march. We share with you excerpts of “A False Dilemma,” Espacio’s stated objection to the march:


We, the members of the Human Rights Workers Forum of Barrancabermeja and the Middle Magdalena (Espacio), who have suffered with the armed social conflict, are deeply concerned by the winds of intolerance, the promotion of hatred and the spurring of polarization in civil society, that throughout history has left the victims naked and unprotected in the face of the armed actors of the Colombian conflict.

... Given this, in response to the call to participate in the march on February 4, the social and human rights organizations signed below have decided not to participate in the march, in order to draw attention to the false dilemma presented to the Colombian people by the Government.

The women and men of Barrancabermeja, along with the social and political organizations of Espacio, have rejected the methods of terror, the war, and [the] degraded condition that legal and illegal armed actors have brought about. We cry out for a peace with social justice. To march against the FARC and the kidnapping, as the promoters of the march suggest, will not lead to the recognition and overcoming of the conflict; that is where the false dilemma lies.

They suggest that if we march we are in favor of peace, and if we do not we are in favor of war. This simplistic dilemma, perpetuated by the mass media, leads to reductionism and the homogenization of political discourse about the social and armed conflict. It legitimizes the annihilation of social actors who define themselves outside of this perspective. We believe that within our national context, it is important not to fall into the trap of this false dilemma, because to do so means closing off the path to what the Colombian people really need: a humanitarian agreement, now.

... It is imperative that the Colombian government acknowledges that the social and armed conflict of more than forty years has its origin in, among other things, deep inequalities and in political, social and economic exclusion. The government must accept that in those causes reside the keys for overcoming the conflict.

However, the [Colombian] government insists on imposing a warrior orientation on the State, which they call "Democratic Security." The February 4 march, rather than serving as a contribution to peace, harmony, and the unity of the country, becomes a threatening referendum, seeking an unlimited mandate for military escapades. This march is a smoke screen that attempts to hide the responsibility of the Colombian State, corporate executives, cattle ranchers, politicians, and others, who have supported paramilitarism.

Under the sway of para-politics, Colombia has seen forced disappearances, displacements, threats, the murders of opponents to the government, the handover of Colombian interests to the multinationals and the loss of the hard-won popular guarantees of rights. In sum, this consolidation of inequalities has resulted in misery, hunger, unemployment, and the economic and political dependency of our country on the North American Empire.

... Finally, we believe that if the Colombian people must march for something today it is for a humanitarian agreement and the political exit to the conflict, for the defense of the people’s economic and social rights, and for the vindication of the national sovereignty with respect to the land and the people.

Human Rights Workers Forum of Barrancabermeja and the Middle Magdalena (Espacio de trabajadores y trabajadoras de Derechos Humanos de Barrancabermeja y el Magdalena Medio) Barrancabermeja, the Middle Magdalena February 1, 2008

Signed by the following organizations who are part of the Espacio:

Campesino Association of the Cimitarra Valley - ACVC –
Regional Corporation for the Defense of the Human rights – CREDHOS
Popular Women’s Organization - OFP-
Program for Development and Peace of the Middle Magdalena - PDPMM-
Unión Sindical Obrero - USO
Diocesan Commission for Life, Justice and Peace.
Pastoral of Workers – Diocese of Barrancabermeja.
Central Unitaria de Trabajadores - CUT
Afrolibertarios
Sinaltrainal
Corporación Nación
Asodesamuba
Sintraelecol
Asorvimm
Pax Christi
Movimiento Humanista
Barrancabermeja Youth Collective
Student Movement of UNIPAZ
Asfaddes Barrancabermeja

International Community:
Peace Brigades International
Christian Peacemaker Teams

Clarification: Though the original letter listed Peace Brigades International and Christian Peacemaker Teams as "International Community" at the bottom of this letter, CPT and PBI are only observers of Espacio and, as such, are not signatories to the letter sent out by Espacio. - Feb 12, 2008