Bogotá (EFE).- The Office of the High Commissioner for Peace (OACP) met with the commanders of the former United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) in an effort to advance total peace, for which it was agreed to create technical tables that start from “the common diagnosis” of the state of paramilitary demobilization.
“The majority” of the signatories of the public letter sent to the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro on March 29, participated in this meeting, in which they reiterated their willingness to contribute to total peace, assessing “positively” the president’s call for a meeting with the top dissidents of the demobilized paramilitary structure.
The AUC demobilized in 2006 after a negotiation process with the government of then Colombian President Álvaro Uribe.
Since the beginning of Petro’s government, several individual conversations have been held with former AUC commanders that have made it possible to learn about “their experience and some of the conclusions left by their process of transition to civilian life,” the OACP reported in a statement.
These dialogues made it possible, in turn, to highlight the “mistakes” of the peace process that allowed their demobilization and that “according to some opinions, motivated the rearmament of some of their structures, as well as the emergence and expansion of new groups in the national territory,” added the information.
Among the issues discussed at the meeting were the legal insecurity perceived by the demobilized, the state of delivery of goods and reparation for the victims, the violent death of more than 4,000 former members of the AUC and their reincorporation and physical safety.
Contributions of learning and recommendations for the development of peacebuilding processes in the regions within the framework of the current peace policy were also discussed.
“Total peace is inclusive and has no biases or vetoes: all sectors of Colombian society that want to contribute will be welcome. The Government of life listens to advance firmly towards peace with solid and verifiable commitments”, concluded the OACP.
paramilitary demobilization
As part of the agreement, the ex-paramilitaries took advantage of the Justice and Peace Law, which contemplated sentences of a maximum of eight years in prison in exchange for collaboration to clarify crimes, but some of the leaders lost those benefits.
That law was criticized by Petro last month, considering that the victims have not been compensated and that the perpetrators should tell the truth.
Last Sunday, Petro opened the door to a meeting with the former AUC leaders to “establish in black and white what happened to the assets, assess what happened to the law, to what extent that peace process was truncated or can be ended.” and terminate”.