Colombia's Conflict - Term Paper Example

Political and social effects of FARC on Columbia Introduction FARC- Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia- is an organized, peasant-based and revolutionary maintained organization that has grown through stages to become one of the strongest movements and revolutionary party in South and Central America. In contrary to many social movements which are made up of students, professionals, doctors or lawyers, they are particularly composed of peasant farmers in rural Colombia. These are the farmers whose lives depend mostly on subsistence farming. The membership, leadership and support base of FARC is right in the rural areas where poverty thrives The early objective of the movement was to champion for land rights in rural Colombia but it has involved itself in illicit drug trade and still insist that it is a legitimate and genuine guerrilla movement for the people and by the people of Columbia. It has gained popularity and support from different quotas who believe that the movement has positioned itself ideologically and consistently hence the need for its political recognition. The current membership of FARC is approximately 18,000 members, 30% of the recruits being under the age of eighteen years and surprisingly, the leadership structure is composed of 49% women. This paper will therefore discuss the political and social effects that have so far resulted from the actions of FARC. The social effects are the drug trafficking, displacements, rape, terrorism, hostages, kidnappings, lack of freedom of the press and other issues. It will also look into the political implications the movement has caused Colombia since its inception. It will finally, provide a different point of view of analysts who believe that the movement is necessary to stem out errant political leaders such the Uribe regime and the former and current presidents in Colombia who are so self centered that they have e economically downgraded the country’s economy. Historical background of FARC Between the years of 1930s and 1950s, hundreds of rural based Colombians driven by their communist ideology began organizing themselves into formidable structures of security and cooperation with the aim of responding to the capitalistic expansion of the ruling interests1. They believed that the state had isolated them and therefore they needed to group all the poor members of the society (small land holders, semi-proletarians, rural workers and peasants) and champion for their rights. The group wanted to establish a corrupt free society, stable and based on local control mechanisms. These localized groups continued to expand their bases and by early 1960s, they had over sixteen groups of communities from all areas of southern and central Colombian republic. These communities were very peaceful to the central government, but to some extent, they were considered a threat to national security especially to the ruling class, land owners, the U.S geopolitical interest and the rising urban capitalists. During the Kennedy administration, the central government through its military targeted regions with strong offensive communities After its founding in the mid 1960s, the insurgency expanded in almost all parts of the country especially during the neo-liberal period when economic policies accompanied by increased repression by the state were practiced. FARC has increased its social, paramilitary and economic presence in Colombia sine that time. In fact, by 1999, the insurgent had almost conquered all the regions of the country. A few years later, reports indicated that they had occupied more than 93% of all the Colombian regions. Within the four decades since the inception of the political movement, FARC ha transformed itself from being a mere peasant-landless struggle to a complex national social force that had threatened even the United States. Currently, the movement has increased its membership base to include; intellectuals, the displaced, Afro-Colombians, unionists, urban workforce and almost all the indigenous population. With an extensive geographic base and an expanding ideological model of leadership, FARC had become the most powerful revolutionary force in the Western Hemisphere (except for Cuba) Social and political effects FARC insists that it remains keen to negotiations with any willing government. It believes that the solution to the Colombian conflict through dialogue can be achieved. However, it has proposed certain conditions that must be met before they down their tools. These conditions include; release of all FARC rebels in government jails, demilitarization of all locations and other conditions. FARC’s leadership believes that due to political violence against its members, there is need for insurgency especially when it comes to opening up the closed political environment in Columbia. FARC is currently an armed organization legally recognized by the Colombian government as a political organization. Contrary to human rights organization policies, FARC has continued to engage in dangerous activities including terrorism, drug trafficking, kidnappings and etc. It was started as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party in 1965. The international community including the U.S, European Union and the United Nations all agree that FARC has become a threat to human survival in Colombia due to the negative political and social effects it has impacted to the country. Terrorism The guerrilla movement has been responsible for many of the acts of terrorism in Colombia. The group has been targeting entertainment spots such as discos, detonation of explosive devices in transportation systems such as vehicles and bombardments of villages, police stations and other public places2. This has inflicted fear among the public and especially those people who are not members of the movement and are part of the ruling party in the government. People always live in fear. In fact, a report by the Amnesty International in 1996 described the FARC’s terrorism acts as similar to those of Al Qaeda Hostage-taking The practice of hostage taking in Colombia has been on the increase since the beginning of this decade. This has been attributed to the brutal activities of the movement. The number of civilians, university students and others that have been taken hostage by the paramilitary group in the last four years is alarming and that FARC has become a threat to the peace of the whole society. The members of the peace negotiating committee from the United States and the government of Colombia including the local municipal mayor who were taken hostage in the late August last year shows the heightened threat of the group. Children rights Children have continued to be severely affected victims of indiscriminate attack, threats and homicides. Going by the figures of the number of children form the junk of the military personnel in the movement and the reports that children are raped, burnt alive and tortured while at the military bases, the harsh reality begins to dawn in the minds of many people who have in the past supported this group. Children become so demoralized, misused and killed as a result of the resistance to the demands by the group. Although some reports could be exaggerated to some extent, the actions are not warranted and the international community is concerned about them. Could there be a way out? Women rights The effects of the armed conflict between the government and FARC have had serous implications on the violations of human rights. Women and girls for example are equally affected as children. Most of the afro-Colombian women and elder women have been accused by the government paramilitary forces for cooking for the FARC’s military and have even been accused of having family members in the opposing army. This in real sense is a violation of human rights in its own and should be discarded. Analysts and women right groups have continued to voice their concerns over the rising insecurity status of women in volatile regions of the country especially the injustices not only done by FARC but also those perpetrated by the government defense forces. Drug trafficking and consumption Drug tracking and consumption has been on the increase in southern and central Colombia. This has been attributed to the persistent activities and involvement by the members of FARC in drugs especially cocaine. The population is so engaged in drugs that the neighboring countries are viewing it as threat to their national security3. Communities Communities threatened with displacements and blockage is beginning to become unstable and very poor. As the number of people who are being displaced every year are on the rise signaling that more people will be living in poverty. The social order and culture within the society has changed a lot since the activities of the movement had affected them. As people continued to live in poverty and fear, the community does not develop economically, socially and politically. Crime Another implication that has resulted from the activities of FARC includes crime. Crime is directly related to drug taking especially among the youth. The main projects that are intended to boost the economy of the country are retarded the gains that could have been achieved if the insurgents could have cooperated with the government. Financial aid The Social Solidarity Network budget and other financial assistance from other organizations have continued to be on the rise. This means that a lot of financial commitment among this organization is utilized in order to save lives and the communities from suffering a lot. In addition, the development of policies especially regarding preferential politics has taken time and lots of resources by the concerned parties. Such amount of resources if they could have been channeled to either development projects or other economically sustainable activities which are suitable for the community4 The huge amount of dollars provided by the world bank and the American government have also been used in peace agreements, negotiation processes etc The freedom of expression and information access has been affected severely by the activities of FARC and the Colombian government military offensive including the U.S military. The number of journalists for example who have been abducted by the movement is alarming leading to lack of lack of media freedom. There has also been threats against the journalists such those of Semana Magazine who were covering stories on the negotiation processes. The onslaught of the media fraternity such as the closure of some media houses is unjustified. Other events such as the apparent prosecution of unionists and demonstrators are a clear indication of lack of freedom of speech. FARC is also blamed on offences regarding personal dignity and other forms of assault. Generally accompanying these kinds of brutal and indecent assault are; forced nudity, sexual slavery, psychological aggression and torture. All these kinds of psychological effects are not good for the individuals of the areas affected. The persons affected are physically implicated with ailments and illnesses not only through malnutrition or mental torture. In response to the failure by the government to defeat the movement since its inception, the government of Colombia and the United States have been formulating and drafting plans to counter the insurgency by FARC. Clinton, former U.S president tried to come up with a plan duped-Clinton’s Plan Colombia, failed to mitigate the effects of the insurgency by failing to completely eradicating it5. The plan had allowed for the reinforcement of Colombia’s military dominance in the whole region giving them extra authority to handle the insurgency. Through the massive infusion of military personnel form the U.S and financial aid, the insurgents have gained strength and morale to fight the military due to that support from the American government. The U.S has also provided logistical support and dollars to fight the consumption of cocaine by the rural and urban populations. In fact, the U.S government provided more than 2.4 billion dollars between 1999 and 2002. The money had been intended to provide an alternative to the cultivation of illicit crops by the farmers. It was specifically designed to enable the peasant farmers to engager in other activities such as businesses or plating other commercial crops such as cotton and coffee. Plan Parota A plan formerly known as –Plan Parota designed to prelude the renewal of previous government’s negotiations with the FARC representatives with the aim of striking a deal. The U.S has been actively involved in resolving the issues surrounding the existence of FARC. Report circulating in the American press in December 2002 indicated that American Marines were ordered by Bush’s administration to eliminate either by killing or capturing the top leadership and commanders of FARC. This sparked political protests from proponents of the movement arguing that the U.S was interfering with internal matters of the country. The Colombian government have tried to create good public image among international community by employing new methods if war and policies. This approach has resulted in the political rearrangements in the country. In fact, the current president who is mirrored to work closed with the current U.S administration has drafted policies to ensure that the Marxist group does not use these areas as recruiting or training grounds. General Richard Myers f the United States Air force was quoted as saying that they were winning the war against FARC’s rebellion. Access of the country through the border regions that surrounds the southern parts of the country has been affected by military efforts to use the paramilitary and state supported programs to limit any kind of intrusion. The FARC's forces have provided the necessary security details that must be provided for the country. During the specific periods of 2003 and 2004, the withdrawal of the FARC forces to the mountains after being pushed by the Colombian forces6. The political implications that resulted from the activities of FARC were much more pronounced especially after president Alvaro Uribe took office in late 2002. He had promised to rid the country of any insurgence. The president engaged the U.S government in finding solutions to the problem. In that context, the government equipped its military with river gunboats, helicopters and gunship to fight the war sophistically. This meant that the government had to use most of its finances for the war. The president was so determined to force the insurgents out of their ‘blocks’ by making major attacks at least once a day during the first four months main office. Members of the public were not satisfied with the way the president ruled the country especially with increased retaliation and fighting in the northern region of the country. In early 2005, the president survived political onslaught as the activities of FARC continued to spread in all parts of the country. Positive effects On a lighter note, proponents of FARC have outlined the positive side of the movement arguing that the imperial U.S brutality and the murderous acts of the Colombian oligarchy can be resisted at all costs. The movement have demonstrated that although its main objective has been misunderstood, it is possible to create a revolutionary force that can fight bad governments where the rich which are about 5% of the population control 90% of the country’s resources! To a normal human being, this is nit fair and must be resisted at all costs. The resistance must however be done in a systematic manner and organized in a way that no human rights are violated7. Most political analysts are congratulating the Marxist group for a job ‘well done’ over the last four decades. They argue that until the political war is won, it is not logical to give up. They feel that FARC has responded with a heroic force that need to be appreciated and must be applied by other countries which are experiencing the same political scenario such as Zimbabwe. Conclusion Uribe’s regime has been accused of running a country where murder, kidnapping, hostage-taking, drug trafficking, torture, rape, assassination and human right abuses are so rampant that the culprits go scoot free. The international community has since branded the country (Colombia) the most dangerous country to live in. Given that more and more civilians are being murdered every year and no single criminal has been punished leaves a lot to be desired. The peasants have suffered as a result of the activities of FARC and the Colombian military that are being backed by the U.S military on the pretext that they are fighting drug abuses. References Avila C. and Francisco R. C. (2005): The Profits of Extermination: How U.S. Corporate Power is Destroying Colombia, Common Courage Press Carry M. L., (2002). Killing Peace: New York; Information Network of the Americas, Issue 9; International Action Centre Jason, W. & Luis J. A., (2005): Marxist Rebels Ambush, Kill 20 Colombian Troops, and Marxist Rebels Kill 17 Colombian Soldiers. James J B. (2005): The FARC-EP in Colombia: A Revolutionary Exception in an Age of Imperialist Expansion. Monthly Review New York; Vol.57, Issue 4; pg. 14 -20 Garry M. L. (2002): Killing Peace: Colombia's Conflict and the Failure of U.S. Intervention, Information; Transaction Publishers Mark C. (2000): Elusive Peace: Struggling Against the Logic of Violence, NACLA Report of the Americas 34, no. 2 pp 32-37. Nazih R. (2005): The Politics of Negotiating Peace in Colombia: NACLA Report on the Americas 38, no. 6 Rebecca T., Teresa G. Sara F & Andy M. (2003): War in Colombia; Made in U.S.A, Information Network of the Americas Richard G. (1971): Guerrilla movements in Latin America; Colombia Robert, H (1967): The Political Dimension of Change; Colombia Russell, C. (2002): Driven by Drugs: U.S. Policy towards Colombia (London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2002), 88 UN, (2005): Coca cultivation in Andes stabilizes in farmers need help to find alternative livelihoods. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (June 20, 2006). International Religious Freedom Report (2005): Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State. Read More