Colombia: FARC says it will stop kidnapping civilians
An anti-kidpnapping protest in Colombia. On Sunday, the FARC announced that they would no longer kidnap civilians for ransom. (Photo: facebook)
By MANUEL RUEDA
Channel: Latin American Affairs
Colombia’s FARC guerrillas announced over the weekend that they will no longer kidnap civilians for ransom, taking what some analysts described as a small but important step towards peace talks with the Colombian government.
The rebels announced that they would conduct no more kidnappings on Sunday, in a statement that talked about the group’s desire for peace, and criticized the government for increasing its military budget.
“A lot has been said about the retentions of civilians that we carry out with the goal of financing our struggle,” said the statement published on the FARC-friendly Anncol website. “With the same desire (for peace) indicated previously, we announce that from this date, we prohibit these retentions as part of our revolutionary conduct.”
Giving up kidnapping is not really a big financial sacrifice for the FARC.
According to the Bogotá-based Pais Libre, or Free Country foundation, there are 405 civilians currently held by the FARC.
But BBC correspondent Jeremy McDermott reports that kidnapping has long stopped to be one of the main sources of money for the rebels, who now depend on drug trafficking and “revolutionary taxes” that they levy on businesses working in areas where the FARC are active.
Mc Dermott writes that in 2002, the rebels were responsible for the majority of 2,800 kidnappings across Colombia, while last year the guerrillas were only accused of committing 77 abductions.
The decision to stop kidnapping may help the FARC to improve their credentials, and it takes an item out of the long checklist of problems that have stalled peace negotiations in the past.
But the Colombian government, which currently has the upper hand in the 48 year-long war, is not likely to quickly call for peace negotiations as a result of the FARC’s new kidnapping policy.
In recent years Colombia’s military has killed several top FARC leaders, and limited the group’s ability to conduct large strikes against government targets, through better intelligence and consistent airstrikes against the rebels.
Reflecting a harder stance against the FARC, which began after peace negotiations failed in 2002, the Colombian government has said that it will only enter negotiations once the rebels lay down their weapons and renounce to violent acts.
“We value the FARC’s announcement as an important and necessary step. But it is not enough (change) in the right direction,” Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos wrote on his twitter account, in response to the FARC’s new kidnapping policy.
Fearing for the safety of its members, the FARC has refused to lay down its weapons, and asked the government to provide a demilitarized zone in Southwestern Colombia if peace talks are to begin.
The government, however, is wary that peace talks would give the guerrillas a chance to regroup and once again become stronger, and has vehemently denied this request.
According to an official who spoke to the BBC’s McDermott, peace negotiations are only likely to happen as President Santos reaches the end of his term in 2014.
By that time, the FARC could be further weakened and under greater pressure to provide more significant concessions. Re-election concerns could also make President Santos more susceptible to the demands of political groups and voters who want peace negotiations with the FARC.
