Resolution about the people’s liberation struggle in Colombia

International Communist Seminar, Brussels, 2 – 4 May 2000

Considering:
The serious political, social and economic situation that the Colombian people is suffering because of the application of the imperialist economic model – neo-liberalism –, that raises the gap between poor and rich, and daily condemns more people to absolute poverty.
That the answer of the Colombian State to this serious crisis going across the country has always been violent, criminalising social protest, increasing the dirty war through the application of the National Security and Internal Enemy doctrine by its army.
That the army, in clear complicity with the paramilitary groups, in their faithful application of the strategy of ‘draining the water from the fish’ - that is, to destroy the insurrection’s social base -, have increased the selective mass murders among the Colombian people, causing an enormous number of victims and millions of internal refugees.
That through the monopoly of mass media, manipulation has always been present, and through psychological warfare, all social and revolutionary political movements that are fighting for a radical change of the corrupt structures of the State, have been demonized.
That the Government of the United States, pursuing to ensure its economic and political interests in Colombia and its surroundings, has traced out a new intervention strategy based on the so-called fight against drugs. This pretext allows them to intervene openly in the internal affairs of all countries, and especially in Colombia it is designed for fighting the revolutionary movement, and thus getting rid of every opposition to the mega-projects they want to implement in the area.
That the Colombian insurgency has always sought to maintain an open dialogue with the government to search for a negotiated political settlement to the armed conflict that is ruining the country.
That the different governments with whom it has dialogued have sought to force the insurgency to the negotiating table demanding in exchange their disarmament and demobilisation, what in the past has caused the annihilation of guerrilleros who had been reintegrated in society.
That notwithstanding the fact that the insurgent forces have an ongoing dialogue and negotiation with the current government presided by Dr. Pastrana, thus showing their willingness to go the road leading to peace with social justice for all Colombians, the government, on the contrary, is seeking more military and economic assistance from the US and from Europe for its Plan Colombia, in order to intensify the war.
That notwithstanding the fact that the FARC-EP have asked the Colombian government to have a permanent system for exchange of prisoners of war, with approximatively 500 military and policemen in the hands of the FARC-EP, the government has not got the political will to solve this problem.

Be it resolved:

1. To give support and solidarity to the various insurgent forces in the search for a negotiated political settlement to the armed conflict, to facilitate a democratic political space to change the existing corrupt system and obtain a durable peace, a genuine democracy, sovereignty and social justice, the wish of all Colombians.
2. To give support and solidarity to the various insurgent forces in their revolutionary struggle to take power and radically change the current corrupt system, if there is no other way to achieve this.
3. To condemn the permanent US intervention in Colombia, that, on the pretext of combating drug trafficking, aims to fight the insurgent forces, thus violating the sovereignty and the self-determination of the peoples.
4. To call on all peoples of Latin America, especially on Colombia’s neighbours, to reject any attempt of Latin American collaboration with the US in forming a multinational intervention force for Colombia.
5. To demand from the Colombian government that the fundamental rights of all citizens be respected, changing their policy of criminalisation of social protest, of persecuting and dismantling the truth and from the military groups to halt their dirty war.
6. To ask from the Colombian goverment to grant the insurgent forces a permanent law for the exchange of prisoners of war, to solve the problem of the prisoners of war of the guerrilla in the Colombian prisons, and of those of the government in the hands of the insurgents.