The Guarantor countries support all those who defend the Peace Process in Colombia.

Likewise, they confirm the validity of the historic Final Peace Agreement and consider that its effective implementation and strict compliance is the way to preserve peace.

In this context, the protection of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, which was designed and agreed upon with the priority objective of guaranteeing truth, justice, reparations, and non-repetition, as well as issues related to agrarian reform, substitution of illicit crops, security and full reintegration and reinstatement of former FARC-EP combatants into civilian life, are of particular relevance, in the interest of consolidating the peace process.

The Guarantor countries, Cuba and Norway, reiterate once again the willingness to continue supporting and accompanying efforts to achieve a stable and lasting peace in Colombia.

(Granma)

Colombia is virtually immersed in a dirty war against the forces of the left in the country. At least 120 social leaders have been murdered in the last three months and 92 former FARC-EP guerrillas since the signing of the Peace Accords in Havana.

The President of Colombia, Iván Duque, traveled to Lima, Peru, to join the chorus and, once again, attack Venezuela, based on the report presented by Chilean Michelle Bachelet on the situation of human rights there.

A report from the newspaper El Espectador, highlights the following words of the Colombian president in Lima: “I hope that now with the results of Michelle Bachelet’s report, the International Criminal Court (ICC) can quickly, not only open the investigation, but have strong evidence to proceed to trial, so a dictator who has finished off the Venezuelan people can get what he deserves.

And as generally happens with these characters, muttering to himself, he added: “I can speak with moral authority because I was the first, three years ago, to denounce Maduro before the ICC.”

If I were to analyze his words, it would be enough to address the “moral authority” issue, but instead of inventing “motes” in the eyes of others, he should at least worry about the spiral of violence in own his country, where between January and November last year, 226 social leaders were killed.

Will the Colombian government do something to stop the massacre and support the Peace Accords with the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army (FARC-EP), converted by the President’s work and grace, into a meaningless document? What will be done about the murders of former FARC guerrillas?

The issue of land, the main demand of campesinos and their communal and social leaders, prioritized by the guerrillas and reflected in the Agreement, is one of the main pending tasks that the government of Colombia owes its people, but the President has forgotten this. Colombian campesinos have more than once asked President Duque to open a dialogue, to address the problem and stop the wave of lynchings, but he remains more concerned with the supposed “human rights situation in Venezuela” and ignores the demands of Colombians.

Do the deaths of social and communal leaders in the Colombian countryside have nothing to do with respect and protection of human rights in the nation?

(Granma)

Of the 34,899,945 Colombians eligible to vote on Sunday, October 2, 63% abstained, with only 37% participating.

It is important to note that the results are valid, as in order for the vote to be considered adequate, at least 13% of the electorate needed to vote for one of the options.

On September 26, the Colombian government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) signed the Final Pace Agreement to bring the 52-year armed conflict to an end, which has left 220,000 dead and millions displaced.

On August 24, 2016, the national government and guerilla faction announced the final peace accord. The document was then submitted to Congress on August 25 and President Santos announced his decision to hold a referendum on October 2, 2016.

The documents were made public for all Colombians before the plebiscite was held last Sunday.

(Granma)

At the Rafael Núñez Airport, Cuba’s head of state was greeted by Deputy Foreign Minister Patricia Londoño, who said she was honored to welcome Raúl and expressed “infinite gratitude to Cuba for all its efforts, for having hosted the negotiations and talks over the last few years.”

The Cuban delegation also included Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla; Eusebio Leal Spengler, Havana City Historian; and José Luis Ponce Caraballo, ambassador in Colombia; as well as a number of officials from the Ministry, many of whom played important roles fulfilling Cuba’s responsibility as a guarantor of the talks.

Scheduled midday, according to the Foreign Ministry, is a religious ceremony requested by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at San Pedro Claver Cathedral, in the city’s central historic district.

Later during the afternoon the Peace Accords signing ceremony will take place on San Francisco esplanade, at the Cartegena Convention Center, with some 16 heads of state expected to attend, along with representatives from a number of regional and international organizations.

(Granma)

The announcement made by the president (Obama): $450 million USD a year for peace, contrast with more than $10 billion USD for the war, when according to many experts, the former is more expensive than the latter; it is a mockery that mass media massage turning the event in something historic and unique, the PCC said.

In view of that political group, Washington reaffirmed yesterday its imperial dominion over Colombia.

During a ceremony held at the White House along with his peer, Juan Manuel Santos, Obama announced his decision to allocate such amount to support the coming post-war stage in the South American nation, an aid plan he called Peace Colombia and which should be included in the 2017 budget.

The monetary commitment should be at long term, but its continuation will depend on the coming president of the White House.

Another infamy and clear expression of the imperialist domination is the celebration of 15 years of Colombia Plan (…) conceived and written in English, a counterinsurgent plan, far from the alleged ploy to fight drug trafficking, the Communist Party posted in its website.

Such agreement, signed by Bogota and Washington, dates from 1999, at a time when Andres Pastrana was the President of the Republic.

Santos and Pastrana were submissive and obedient to the call ordered by the president of the United States (to attend the event), that movement insisted.

The PCC called the Colombians to condemn the mentioned plan and its variants, to demand national sovereignty, dignity, and patriotism, inspired in the precepts of respect to self-determination and the Bolivarian thought.

Since 2012, the representatives of the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army (FARC-EP) are meeting in Cuba with the objective of finding a negotiated solution to the long civil war, which has killed about 300,000 people.

In correspondence with the progress to date, such talks could end in the coming months with the signing of peace.

The United States has confirmed its support to peaceful efforts, and appointed a special envoy for the talks in Havana between the government and the FARC-EP.

(Prensa Latina)

Jiménez posted on the #DesescalamientoYa page, where he has been reporting on the progress of peace talks with the Colombian government aiming to bring the conflict to a peaceful end.

FARC-EP spokespersons recently requested the Colombian government to establish a mutual truce in order to move toward a definitive bilateral ceasefire.

The rebel group declared an autonomous ceasefire on July 20, the sixth of its kind, with the aim of reducing civilian casualties and advancing toward ending the conflict.
The initiative was followed by a presidential order to cease air strikes on insurgent camps, but hostilities continue with ground operations.
In other posts Jiménez denounced actions which threaten the unilateral agreement reached three months ago, including the persistence of military operations in areas where regiments under his command are based.
President Juan Manuel Santos noted the possibility of declaring a permanent ceasefire beginning January 1 or even earlier as a Christmas present to the nation, meanwhile the FARC-EP has requested that the Colombian government declare an immediate ceasefire.

As a result of the peace talks taking place in Cuba since 2012, the two parties have reached agreement on issues such as comprehensive agrarian reform, political participation with a focus on democratic processes, and the fight against drug trafficking.
They have also agreed to the creation of a Special Jurisdiction for Peace, a mechanism which prioritizes the rights of the victims and is to focus on truth seeking, reparations and guarantees of non-repetition; as well as an accord on disappeared persons, and a programtoclearrural areas of landmines, already begun in Antioquia.

(Granma)

It is urgent to comply with the mandate of the agenda for the talks for peace in Colombia regarding the solution of the issue of paramilitarism and its final dismantling.

The FARC-EP said in a communique that it is of paramount importance to restore confidence and resume the parties’ effort to concrete measures for descalating the conflict on which talks have been ongoing in Havana since November, 2012.

“We have to leave this turmoil turbulence behind to give the Colombian people a clear horizon that allows us to go smoothly through a path toward the Final Agreement,” says the communique.

The guerrilla also urged against more losses of valuable human lives or killings of members of organizations like Marcha Patriotica and the Congress of the Peoples, land claimers, human rights activists, leaders of social movements and labor unions.

Colombia needs the backing and solidarity of Latin America, of the governments and peoples around the world, to leave behind the horrific night cited by our national anthem, added the text.

The spokesman for the guerrilla, Pastor Alape, denounced that in the attack launched last week 27 guerrilla fighters were killed, mostly due to the bombs, and he demanded justice and the investigation into the incident.

Alape said that Jairo Martinez, a member of the FARC-EP delegation to the peace talks in Havana, was among the dead.

He said the issue of justice is expected to be discussed by the parties at due time, and the guerrilla won’t avoid its discussion.

“We have not come to Havana to negitiate impunities, but first an answer must be given to the minimal proposals about the victims of conflict made to the government in the talks, including those made through the years by the organizations of victims and human rights.

(Prensa Latina)

In previous days, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People´s Army (FARC-EP) defended their stance against aerial spraying of glyphosate, in a context marked by positions within the Colombian government regarding the use of this controversial herbicide as part of the anti-drug policy.

In that regard, the member of the guerrilla delegation, Joaquin Gomez, recalled that the government war policy against drug trafficking, inspired by Washington, has failed.

After reiterating the insurgents’ rejection of the government’s scheme based on aerial spraying-forced eradication, the rebel commander welcomed the recommendation by the Colombian Ministry of Health to stop using this herbicide, after the World Health Organization (WHO) described it as a probable carcinogenic substance.

The controversy about the use of glyphosate to fumigate illegal crops has caused divisions in the Colombian government, after Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon and Attorney General Alejandro Ordoñez defended its use, despite the recommendation by the Ministry of Health.

Regarding the issue of illegal crops, FARC-EP reiterated its view based on a human rights approach and that, in their opinion, “the scheme is not eradication but voluntary replacement accompanied by comprehensive development projects for the communities that are the main protagonists of the processes.”

(Prensa Latina)