FARC dissident decides its role in peace in Colombia

Colombia is waiting for an answer: will the FARC guerrillas who did not want peace now join the total peace? To answer, the commanders are The mayor of the state Centrala, the main dissident guerrilla group, is meeting this weekend to present a joint position to the state and government.

“Peasant, indigenous and Afro communities, social organizations and groups of citizens from all over the country, working together for peace with social and environmental justice: we support and monitor the efforts to build total peace of the Central Headquarters of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the Government”it is stated in a statement published on social networks.

That is why this Sunday they will accompany the commanders in the savannahs of Yarí for a meeting where thousands of people are expected to be present “to know the progress of these important dialogues”.

San Vicente del Caguan, the nearest town to the event’s gathering place, located in the eastern plains on the edge of the Amazon, has these days become a hive of indigenous guards, peasants and leaders who have traveled to follow guerrillas.

In the savannahs of Yarí, in the department of Caquetá, one of the most emblematic bastions of the guerrillas where the events that marked its future took place, commanders will address the country this Sunday in the first major conference of this caliber since Peace agreement from 2016to which her commander-in-chief, alias “Iván Mordisco”, did not want to accept.

The information about the place and date of the event published by the media this week caused a stir Government refused to participate in it, where it was expected that the beginning of the dialogue would be formally announced, but which has now been postponed.

Hypotheses suggest that dissident commanders will announce their emissaries to advance peace talks with the government, something they must do now because the cancellation of the arrest warrants against them expires on the same day weekend.

Despite the uncertainty, there is great anticipation to know if peace will come Colombia add a new walker.

He Central headquarters It has 22 fronts, with about 2,500 members and is present in the south, east and west of Colombia, its main strongholds being the departments of Guaviare, Meta, Caquetá, Vaupés and Guainía, although it has also expanded greatly on the border with Venezuela.

With the arrival of the president Gustavo Petroand after several casualties of some of its top leaders, the EMC ordered a ceasefire, which the government turned into a bilateral one at the beginning of the year and which, in theory, will last until June, with the possibility of an extension for another six months.

However, there have been accusations from both sides of alleged ceasefire violations, the latest gathered Central headquarters in a statement released Friday expressing his “great concern” due to “recent statements (…) by Peter to order military forces to be deployed across the country regardless of the fact that we are in a bilateral ceasefire.”

As examples, the guerrilla cites an incident that took place on April 12 in a rural area of ​​Cauca department and another registered on April 11 in the department of Arauca.

However, according to the non-governmental organization Indepaz, EMC It is also the group with the most violations of the truce, which carried out about thirty violent actions (such as confrontations, murders, etc.) against other groups or public forces, and a total of 33 actions such as assassinations of social leaders, kidnappings or recruitment against the population.

And although the group is led “Ivan Bite” It is not the only dissident to emerge from the FARC – also the so-called Segunda Marquetalia, commanded by “Iván Márquez” – it is the one closest to sitting down with the government.

From the beginning, their position was opposed to the 2016 peace and they never joined, in contrast to other dissidents, whose decision was to leave the agreement due to violations.