Colombian rebel group FARC said Tuesday that in order for there to be long-lasting peace in the South American country, the guerrillas must to be considered the political organization they claim to be.
In an editorial published on this website, the rebel group — deemed a terrorist organization by the United States and Europe — claimed that “some extreme right-wing sectors” incorrectly claim that the rebels “have completely lost our ideological horizon; what remains, is a sinking ship of sheer delinquents, who should simply proceed to disarmament and demobilization.”
EDITORIAL: FARC are and always have been a political organization
Dutch FARC rebel Tanja Nijmeijer countered such claims and said that “if we want to reach a stable and long-lasting peace, it is important to recognize the FARC’s political ideas as such, whether or not people agree with them.”
| “Of course, our historical aspirations go beyond these urgent measures; the FARC-EP has always sought ‘the overcoming of the capitalist order’, as stated in the General Guidelines. However, we won’t try to fit a round peg in a square hole; we fully understand the objective and subjective conditions of the moment and the reality we are living in.” |
The FARC’s original ideology was built on Marxism-Leninism. Nijmeijer claimed that,while still fighting to “overcome the capitalist order,” the group is currently — 50 years after its foundation — not trying to “fit a round peg in a square hole” while negotiating peace with the government.
“Of course, our historical aspirations go beyond these urgent measures; the FARC-EP has always sought ‘the overcoming of the capitalist order’, as stated in the General Guidelines. However, we won’t try to fit a round peg in a square hole; we fully understand the objective and subjective conditions of the moment and the reality we are living in,” said Nijmeijer.
According to the rebel, the FARC is in favor of a democratic development in Colombia, which — brought together with the ideas of the FARC — will secure a “New Colombia” after the event of successful peace talks.
The latest peace talks began formally in November 2012. Since then, no truce has been agreed between the warring parties, meaning that conflict-related violence is ongoing.