Colombia’s High Commissioner for Peace and Reintegration yesterday called on former AUC paramilitaries to denounce threats made against them by the FARC guerrillas and join the reintegration process.
“Drug trafficking, gang warfare and FARC retaliation against the AUC are the main enemies of the reintegration process” the High Commissioner, Frank Pearl, was quoted saying by newspaper El Informador.
“Together with the National Police we have implemented a successful protection system for those ex-paramilitaries whose lives are at risk.” 97% of the total number of demobilized AUC fighters who received threats have allegedly been kept alive and successfully reintegrated with their families.
The rate of violence against the ex-paramilitaries does not exceed 7.2% which shows that the reintegration process is working and the majority of those who join it manage to stay away from violence – those who do re-offend are expelled and cease to receive benefits.
According to Colombian National Police, only 2% of the former paramilitaries had been captured or killed once they had demobilized for belonging to criminal gangs.
In various coastal regions those ex-AUC members who had been killed, had turned out to be continuously involved in criminal activities despite supposedly handing over their weapons in 2006.