End of 22nd round of talks: Press conference FARC-EP

Havana, Cuba, site of the peace talks, March 30, 2014

The 22nd round of Peace Talks has come to an end in Havana. Without any doubt, there has been progress and the achievements allow to assume that the obstacles on the path of reconciliation are being removed to the extent that the most urgent demands of the poor are expressed in the agreements: their fundamental rights, the determination to realize a Comprehensive Rural Reform that really provides the rural communities access to land, territorial rights, political participation without persecution, repression and death, in conditions of dignity and democracy, overcoming the structural causes of poverty and inequality as underlying causes of the political, social and armed conflict.

It is a fact that the achievements make us optimistic, always based on realism, but with the determination to do everything possible to reach this high purpose.

The debate and agreements about the third point of discussion, the problem of the Illicit Use of Drugs have been written on several pages of agreements, including, among other matters, the conclusions on the substitution of the illicit use of crops. The agreement should place the peasants, indigenous and Afro-communities (linked to the crops) in the foreground, as victims of a phenomenon which undoubtedly and fundamentally has to be fought in the marketing area, scenario in which the financial capital plays a leading role.

Definitely, the peasantry and other cultivating rural communities, consumers and the smaller segments of the illegal markets - including drug couriers and small vendors - are just victims and the criminalization and repressive and punitive treatment against them should stop. A new policy must be implemented, because "The global war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world" as expressed in several reports on drugs, developed at the behest of the United Nations and other international bodies, adding that urgent fundamental reforms in regard to national and international policies of drug control are needed.

We have followed these guideline on our way to the agreements, even admitting that it is time to begin the transformation of the global policies of drug prohibition; it is time to replace the drug policies and strategies based on political ideology and convenience; to overcome them with responsible economic policies and strategies based on science, health, security and respect for human rights. Appropriate benchmarks for evaluation should be implemented, dedicated to the interpretation and the revision of international conventions, in order to adapt them to a solid experimentation with harm reduction, decriminalization and legal regulatory policies.

But this road requires the exercise of sovereignty, if we're talking about real peace, the peace of social justice, and not the peace of the tombs, the dream of those who admit - without any embarrasment - their interventionism disguised as "support" provided by the South Command, or who believe that using military force against the poor shows "forcefulness" and "vitality", while they are proud of the relationship of humiliating subordination now called "relationship between equals".

In the case of Colombia, it's time to listen to the communities. From them, the FARC, in order to elaborate its minimum proposals, collected the most significant initiatives, which we now see repeated in the important conclusions of the Agrarian, Ethnic and Popular Summit. Their positions coincide with the viewpoints of the most advanced sectors of the academic and scientific community which investigate the struggle against illicit drugs and drug trafficking.

These demands are an example of patriotic interest in what the future of the country and the construction of a more just society should be. Therefore, to meet them is to open the way to true democracy and peace as a synthesis right of coexistence in conditions of dignity and freedom. That is why the FARC-EP welcomes the increasing prominence of the Popular Movement in defining Colombia's destiny, exalts their demands and makes a strong call to restore the collective memory, to establish a Commission of Truth about the History of the Conflict and the ones who are responsible for it; to compensate the victims, building a commitment of justice, reparation and the obligation of non-repetition; to advance a constitutional process that - with everyone's help - will gather the necessary elements to shape the desired Peace Treaty, in order to reach the stable and lasting peace the country needs.

As a result of these reflections, hoping that this opportunity for dialogue we are now carrying out won't dilute in another frustration, and with all the faith in the potential of people to achieve the changes that the country needs, we will now read the following open letter to former President Ernesto Samper Pizano:

Former President
Ernesto Samper Pizano,
Bogotá.

We have learned, here in Havana, about your request to include in the list of prisoners, who eventually will be sent to Colombia by the U.S. government, the names of Simón Trinidad and Sonia, guerrilla fighters of the FARC, deprived of their freedom for political reasons, in U.S. prisons.

Let us, Mr. Samper, acknowledge your generosity, your humanitarian awareness and consistent commitment to peace in Colombia. You've always had a firm and resolute position, based on humanitarian principles and civilized habits, in favor of the exchange of prisoners as consequence of the conflict.

We hope that your request, externalized in a forum on human rights, awakes in the Colombian government the same sensitivity that has led you to undertake this initiative. Without any doubt, it will redound to the benefit of the peace all Colombian people long for.

Since the beginning of the peace talks, we have asked the governments which are in the position to make the decision, to allow the presence of Simón Trinidad in Havana. He was designated by the FARC as one of the plenipotentiaries of peace, to contribute with his well-known wisdom and common sense to the construction of the agreement to end the protracted conflict in Colombia.

We are sure that the U.S. authorities understand that the accomplishment of this request, inspired by their decision to release dozens of prisoners at Guantánamo, will constitute an extraordinary and long-awaited gesture from the US government to peace in Colombia.

Cordial greeting,

Peace Delegation of the FARC-EP

Source: Peace Delegation of the FARC-EP