The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a longtime communist guerrilla group, signed a peace agreement with the Colombian government in 2016, laying down its arms and transforming into the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (CARF), a far-left party, AFP reported on January 24. On January 24 of this year, at the organization’s second congress, the party’s delegates finally changed their name to the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force (FARC). “The People’s Party” (Common People’s Party) to get rid of the decades-old label of being equated with Marxist rebels.
Last week, Rodrigo Londono, leader of this leftist party, reportedly said that for them, “keeping the name FARC is complicated. Not because we regret it or because we are ashamed of it, but because we have been involved in armed conflicts, wars, in the name of FARC”. He acknowledged that “the conflict has caused many wounds” and that the name FARC is closely associated with the bloody conflict.
After half a century of armed conflict in Colombia, a peace agreement was reached in 2016 between the Colombian government and the country’s largest opposition force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), to end the armed conflict. An October 2020 UN report found that, while progress has been made in the three years since the agreement was implemented, many challenges remain in the areas of justice, security and reintegration of former combatants. Some former FARC-EP commanders have recently announced that they have taken up arms again, an action that is regrettable and unjustified. The United Nations stresses the importance of these former combatants maintaining their commitment to the peace process.
Indeed, the entire country of Colombia, including the FARC-affiliated political parties and President Duque, have successively expressed their rejection of these actions. The Far-Left party that transitioned from the FARC, the Revolutionary Forces for a Common Alternative (FARC), has expelled from the party those who have taken up arms again. The Special Jurisdiction for Peace has declared that all those who declare that they have taken up arms again will be excluded from its jurisdiction and will lose the benefits provided for in the Peace Accords.
The United Nations has stated that attacks on former FARC-EP combatants remain a serious concern. A total of 151 ex-combatants have been killed since the signing of the Peace Accords, and 20 more have suffered tragic deaths in the past three months. The Government of Colombia has announced a number of measures aimed at enhancing the safety and security of ex-combatants and investigating these killings, and while some progress has been made in implementing the measures, more needs to be done, particularly to address the ongoing budget shortfalls faced by the entities responsible for protecting ex-combatants.
The UN calls on Colombians not to miss the valuable opportunity now available to end the cycle of violence in the country. The UN remains convinced that only through the full implementation of the Final Peace Agreement can the peace process move forward. Colombians’ vision of a peaceful and prosperous future can be achieved if all, including the Government, the FARC, Colombian society as a whole and the international community —-, work together to ensure that the letter and spirit of the Peace Agreement is translated into concrete actions that improve the lives of those most affected by the conflict.
Colombian military intelligence estimates that there are approximately 2,300 members of the FARC who still refuse to participate in the peace process, surviving through drug smuggling, illegal mining and a vast support network. The areas occupied by the former FARC are also known for cultivating drug crops, and Colombia is the world’s largest producer of coca leaf, the raw material from which cocaine is extracted.
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