The Colombian government's greater openness to dialogue and the recent release of hostages by that country's FARC guerrillas have created a climate in which it is possible to move in the direction of a negotiated solution to an armed conflict that has dragged on for nearly half a decade.
That was the view expressed by Latin American and European political leaders, academics and peace activists meeting in Buenos Aires in the Feb. 21-23 Haciendo la Paz en Colombia (Making Peace in Colombia) forum organised by former senator Piedad Córdoba.
In a conversation with IPS, Córdoba, who was removed from her seat in the Senate in September 2010 accused of "promoting and collaborating" with the insurgents, remarked that "the most important thing" in today's new circumstances is "the hint of disposition on the part of the government to achieve peace."
Conservative President Juan Manuel Santos took office in August 2010, after two four-year terms of right-wing President Álvaro Uribe, whose "democratic security" policies aggravated the armed conflict and its extremely serious social and economic consequences.
Santos has a "more conciliatory attitude," said former Liberal Party president Ernesto Samper (1994-1998), who took part in the conference by means of a video recording in which he also expressed his gratitude for the growing international solidarity with the Colombian people.
"That is something that we must capitalise on," said Córdoba, director of Colombians for Peace, the movement that organised the three-day meeting in the Argentine capital to discuss ways to move towards a peace process in Colombia.
In a document presented at the start of the conference, the organisers warned that the conflict in Colombia "threatens to overflow" and "should be a wakeup call to the ethical conscience of humanity as a whole."
The report calls for the "humanisation" of the conflict and the construction of peace with social justice, overcoming the failed attempts of the past, and taking advantage of the greater openness of the government and insurgent groups.
Spanish scholar and politician Federico Mayor Zaragoza, the president of the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, and Argentine human rights activist and Nobel peace laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel were among the personalities taking part in the opening session Monday.
The aim of the conference is to discuss the need for a peace process, the role of the international community, past experiences in resolving armed conflicts around the world, and humanitarian law. Córdoba said that until the armed conflict can be brought to an end, "the ethics of humanisation" should prevail: humanitarian treatment for prisoners and the injured and respect for human rights in general.
Positive recent developments underscored by the participants were the release of hostages by the main rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which takes hostages with the aim of swapping them for imprisoned insurgents.
Argentine political scientist Atilio Borón, invited to speak about the role of the international community in the peace process, said the FARC "made an outstanding gesture by unilaterally releasing a significant number of hostages."
That was the view expressed by Latin American and European political leaders, academics and peace activists meeting in Buenos Aires in the Feb. 21-23 Haciendo la Paz en Colombia (Making Peace in Colombia) forum organised by former senator Piedad Córdoba.
In a conversation with IPS, Córdoba, who was removed from her seat in the Senate in September 2010 accused of "promoting and collaborating" with the insurgents, remarked that "the most important thing" in today's new circumstances is "the hint of disposition on the part of the government to achieve peace."
Conservative President Juan Manuel Santos took office in August 2010, after two four-year terms of right-wing President Álvaro Uribe, whose "democratic security" policies aggravated the armed conflict and its extremely serious social and economic consequences.
Santos has a "more conciliatory attitude," said former Liberal Party president Ernesto Samper (1994-1998), who took part in the conference by means of a video recording in which he also expressed his gratitude for the growing international solidarity with the Colombian people.
"That is something that we must capitalise on," said Córdoba, director of Colombians for Peace, the movement that organised the three-day meeting in the Argentine capital to discuss ways to move towards a peace process in Colombia.
In a document presented at the start of the conference, the organisers warned that the conflict in Colombia "threatens to overflow" and "should be a wakeup call to the ethical conscience of humanity as a whole."
The report calls for the "humanisation" of the conflict and the construction of peace with social justice, overcoming the failed attempts of the past, and taking advantage of the greater openness of the government and insurgent groups.
Spanish scholar and politician Federico Mayor Zaragoza, the president of the Foundation for a Culture of Peace, and Argentine human rights activist and Nobel peace laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel were among the personalities taking part in the opening session Monday.
The aim of the conference is to discuss the need for a peace process, the role of the international community, past experiences in resolving armed conflicts around the world, and humanitarian law. Córdoba said that until the armed conflict can be brought to an end, "the ethics of humanisation" should prevail: humanitarian treatment for prisoners and the injured and respect for human rights in general.
Positive recent developments underscored by the participants were the release of hostages by the main rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which takes hostages with the aim of swapping them for imprisoned insurgents.
Argentine political scientist Atilio Borón, invited to speak about the role of the international community in the peace process, said the FARC "made an outstanding gesture by unilaterally releasing a significant number of hostages."
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