Colombia rebels come out of the jungle to jump into politics — and to party
The FARC secretariat on the Opening ceremony of thFARC guerrilla fighters attending the opening ceremony of the 10th FARC conference in the llanos del Yari. (Joao Pina/For The Washington Post)e 10th FARC conference in the llanos del Yari, Colombia. (Joao Pina/For The Washington Post)--
The FARC secretariat on the Opening ceremony of thFARC guerrilla fighters attending the opening ceremony of the 10th FARC conference in the llanos del Yari. (Joao Pina/For The Washington Post)e 10th FARC conference in the llanos del Yari, Colombia. (Joao Pina/For The Washington Post)--
David Preciado lost his left arm in combat six years ago. (Joao Pina/For The Washington Post)
EL DIAMANTE, Colombia —
Of all the strange sights at the “conference” held this week to mark
the end of the FARC guerrillas’ half-century war, none was more surreal
than the concert stage they fired up in the evenings. Set in the middle
of a vast meadow, with a fog machine and a video screen the size of a
tank, it was the brightest thing for miles around.
Big-name bands had been trucked in from the faraway capital, Bogota, and
some of the rebels came out of the forest to dance in their fatigues
and rubber boots. Others stared blankly, looking bewildered by all the
light and noise.
“I went to watch for a bit, but it hurt my ears,” said David Preciado,
33, who had never been to a concert. He has been fighting in the jungle
since age 14. “I guess I’m not used to it,” he said.
No one — not the guerrillas, and certainly not the Colombian public watching them — is used to any of this.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,
or FARC, has reached a peace deal with the government that, if approved
by voters Oct. 2, would bring an end to the longest armed insurgency in
the Western Hemisphere.
To prepare, FARC leaders gathered 200 guerrilla “delegates” this week
for a six-day conference whose stated purpose was to discuss the accords
and smooth the rebels’ transition to electoral politics.
Clearly the rebel commanders also wanted to throw their troops a party, and the result was something like a Marxist-Leninist version of a USO show.
During the day, while the commanders and delegates met behind closed
doors, hundreds of rank-and-file guerrillas who had been brought in to
provide security and other assistance played soccer, cooked elaborate
stews and patiently attended to the questions of the many Colombian and
foreign journalists invited to the event. At night the beer flowed and
booming music rattled the jungle.
The conference was held five hours from the nearest town, in an areaof
eastern Colombia known as the Savannas of Yari, a name thatonce conjured
fear. It is where the FARC often kept kidnapping victims chained in the
jungle, and where others vanished forever.
This week it became the setting for an impromptu rebel city, with
generators pumping 24-hour electricity, restaurant tents offering Old
Parr whisky and cold beer, and nightly concerts under a full moon.
Vendors selling T-shirts, ice cream and hamburgers showed up, too. It
felt like ahybrid of Burning Man and a communist summer camp, only with
AK-47s instead of Frisbees.
A few family members also arrived to reunite with loved ones they
haven’t seen in years. If the peace deal is approved, FARC troops will
begin relocating to U.N.-monitored camps where they will start
disarming, and their relatives are expected to be able to join them.
Preciado, who lost his left arm in combat six years ago, hasn’t seen his
parents or siblings since 1997, when he joined the guerrillas. They
have no idea if he is alive , he said. Preciado has sent friends to
check on them without their knowledge.
He let out a heavy sigh when asked what it would be like to meet them again. “A sea of tears,” he said.
Fight moves to the ballot box
The latest polls show the Oct. 2 referendum is likely to pass by a wide
margin. But it was difficult to tell how the guerrillas’ celebratory
event might play on television to a Colombian public still conflicted
about a deal that will allow FARC leaders to avoid prison time if they fully admit to war crimes and make amends.
There appears to be even more resentment, at least among poorer
Colombians, that the deal will give demobilized fighters cash stipends
to facilitate their transformation to civilian life. FARC commanders
have insisted the organization has no money to contribute, despite the
widespread perception that the rebels have socked away hundreds of
millions of dollars fromdrug trafficking.
The infrastructure set up for this week’s event — heavy construction
equipment, a gas station and especially the concert stage — probably
cost the FARC hundreds of thousands of dollars.
FARC commanders were evasive all week about their plans,ducking most
reporters’ questions. The peace accords commit the Colombian government
to dedicating more money and attention to rural development, but the
pact does not promise the kind of sweeping economic and political change
that has long been at the core of FARC revolutionary doctrine. The
group says it will fight for those ideals at the ballot box.
The FARC, or at least the still-unnamed party that will succeed it, will
enter electoral politics at a time when the left is losing ground
across Latin America. In speeches there was much praise for late
Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez, but little indication the guerrillas view
his “Bolivarian” socialist movement as a guidepost.
Pablo Catatumbo. whose real name is Jorge Torres, a member of the
seven-man FARC leadership secretariat, said their movement would be
devoted to “fighting corruption,” with a deep respect for opposing views
and ideas.
“We will maintain the principles we’ve always been struggling for: a
Colombia that is more inclusive, more fair and that respects democratic
freedoms,” he told reporters.
It was here on the Savannas of Yari that the Colombian government held
failed peace talks with the rebels from 1999 to 2002. The FARC was at
the height of its power then, with as many as 20,000 fighters.
The government says the rebel force has withered to fewer than 7,000
combatants, but the true number remains a closely guarded FARC secret.
For those accustomed to seeing photographs of smaller rebel units, it
was impressive to see hundreds of battle-hardened, disciplined fighters
in one place. Although diminished, they remain the last major guerrilla
army in the Americas, and there is little doubt they would be able to
keep fighting if Colombian voters end up rejecting the peace accords.
No one here seemed to be contemplating that scenario. But Colombian
opposition leaders from the party of former president and FARC archenemy
Álvaro Uribe arrived to campaign against the accords this week in San
Vicente de Caguan, the town closest to the site of the conference.
The town’s mayor, Humberto Sánchez, was kidnapped by the rebels in 2006 and was held six months in the forest, until his family paid a ransom, he said.
Sánchez said local businesses were forced to make extortion payments to
the guerrillas until a month ago, and he predicted many in town would
vote against the accords. “A badly negotiated peace deal is worse than
war,” Sánchez said.
Asked what they plan to do after giving up their weapons, a few rebel
fighters at the conference said they wanted to go back to school or
return to farm life. All said they were ready to do whatever their
commanders asked of them.
“I’d really like to work in media,” said Adriana Gutierrez, 32, after meeting so many reporters this week. “This work seems really important right now.”
Gutierrez was getting ready for an interview with a BBC cameraman. She
has been living in the jungle as a guerrilla soldier since age 17.
