- Title: COLOMBIA: In war zone, peace talks raise new fears
- Date: 17th March 2014
- Summary: TORIBIO, CAUCA, COLOMBIA (RECENT) (REUTERS) GENERAL VIEW OF STREETS OF TORIBIO DESTROYED HOUSE POLICE ON DUTY GENERAL VIEW OF COCA PLANTS VARIOUS OF MAN COLLECTING COCA LEAVES (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) COCA LEAF FARMER, ANGEL ESCUE, SAYING: "If the government's committed to all (peace points) that are being agreed to in Havana there should be one about coca. But if the pric
- Embargoed: 1st April 2014 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Cuba
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAD9Y0LNADZA6TFF6V4ZN0QEA9E
- Story Text: As presidential elections draw near, Colombia's bid to end half a century of war with Marxist rebels has raised new fears in the war-ravaged South American country that peace may come at too high a price.
Three months before the presidential election, government envoys and FARC commanders are working through the third item on a five-point peace agenda - the illegal drugs industry, and how to rid Colombia of coca.
The FARC is believed to control about 60 percent of cocaine output in Colombia, one of the world's biggest producers, netting the rebels as much as $1 billion a year, the government says. FARC leaders deny involvement in drug trafficking but accept their role in coca production.
In the mountains of the central Cauca department, the livelihoods of farmers in the town of Toribio are at stake.
With the price per gram of cocaine on European and U.S. streets higher than returns for coffee plantations, farmers like Angel Escue will continue to grow coca leaves regardless of peace talks.
"If the government's committed to all (peace points) that are being agreed to in Havana there should be one about coca. But if the price of coffee doesn't rise and continues to be the same, we will not stop (growing) coca. We will continue with the work we're doing," he said.
Negotiations to end the conflict that has killed more than 200,000 - mostly civilians - since the 1960s is a campaign battleground ahead of the first round of voting on May 25.
President Juan Manuel Santos is favoured to win a second term and continue the peace talks that began in 2012, although he will be hard pressed to match his comfortable victory in 2010 given criticism of the talks and his economic policies.
This is the first election held during a peace process, so convincing farmers like Escue and others that an end to the conflict will also bring jobs is key.
"Peace without impunity, peace without letting down your guard, people without an endless agenda, a peace for all Colombians. I said this to Congress last July 20 and I repeat it to you today," said Santos recently.
But many fear Colombia's peace negotiations will herald in an era of impunity for Marxist FARC rebels. Guerilla leaders have said they are not prepared to serve a single day in jail, raising concerns that gross violations will go unpunished and victims will not receive their day in court.
Santo's presidential challenger comes from right-wing contender Oscar Ivan Zuluaga, an ally of conservative former President Alvaro Uribe who says he would scrap the FARC talks.
"I agree that rank and file guerrillas may be eligible (for impunity) but the leaders who have committed crimes against humanity, atrocities cannot be eligible. I agree with reduced penalties but they have to pay with jail time," said Zuluaga.
The government is said to be working on creating a system that would enable as many as 8,000 fighters of the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, to reintegrate into society while ensuring victims receive adequate redress.
While Colombians are desperate to see an end to the war, many are angered by the possibility that FARC commanders, some responsible for horrendous human rights abuses, could walk away without facing jail time.
Manuel Bonilla, 62, lost his right arm when rebels detonated a bus bomb in Toribio's central square. He has little faith in the government's peace overtures with the FARC and is deeply skeptical about the election.
"People vote and vote for this government and they don't do anything. So people are finally saying, "what is the elected government doing?" Nothing because the poor continue as they are. Vote for a president who does something real, housing. As I say, the poor have the right to decent housing, but not us," he said.
Bonilla's wife, Marta Lucia, helps scratch out a living for the family by trimming and bagging marijuana on the porch of her crumbling adobe shack. She feeds her family of seven with sugar water, plantains and rice with the $2.50 she is paid daily.
"Hopefully, blessed God there is peace because it would change life and hopefully for simple people but it seems strange to me. The rich who have the most want more, which is really terrible," Bonilla said.
About two hours down winding roads from Toribio, sugar cane companies such as Bengala Agricola are waiting for the outcome of the talks before making million-dollar investments to switch to pineapple cultivation.
Addressing safety concerns are vital, says Bengala executive Mauricio Lopez, in attracting greater investment into Colombia.
"Clearly, it depends (on the peace process) because investments are contributing a lot. What will come of it from the (peace) process is an important issue. The issue of security will always be a headache. For us, there is the issue of insecurity, not just for workers but also management," said Lopez.
Founded in 1964 as a Marxist movement that fought to defend the poor, the FARC later turned to cocaine, kidnapping and extortion.
At its height, the FARC had some 20,000 fighters but a U.S.-funded military offensive has whittled them to as few as 7,000.
The two sides have reached tentative agreement on two of five major topics, on land use and the FARC's political future as an unarmed group. They are progressing toward a third agreement on the issue of drug trafficking. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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