Colombia's president says enemies poisoning peace process

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Colombia's president says enemies poisoning peace process
By Helen Murphy Reuters
9:51 p.m. EDT, April 8, 2013

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia's attempt to bring an end to five decades of war with Marxist FARC rebels faces "enemies," President Juan Manuel Santos said on Monday, calling for unity to support the process and assure its success in the next several months.

In a televised address on the eve of an organized march against violence, Santos expressed optimism that the nation is close to achieving a historic agreement with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, and an end to bloodshed, but he slammed those who are poisoning the effort and spreading lies.

"While some remain trapped in the past, clinging to a vision of Colombia condemned to violence, of a Colombia frozen with fear and polarization, we, the immense majority of Colombians believe in our future," said Santos of the peace negotiations taking place in Havana, Cuba.

Without naming his former boss, Santos alluded to ex-President Alvaro Uribe, who has been against the negotiations since their announcement in September. Uribe has used his Twitter account to drum up support for his efforts against Santos, once his defense minister.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/news/nation-world/sns-rt-us-colombia-rebels-santosbre93801d-20130408,0,907889.story

[Comrade Grumpy]

1. The war criminal Uribe wants more war?

[Peace Patriot]

2. Urbe won't stop warmongering until the last poor peasant farmer...

...who may be growing a few coca leaves, and all other rivals to his criminal organization, are exterminated.

That's what he's all about. That's what the Bush Junta was all about in Colombia, in my opinion-- turning the "war on drugs" on its head (in so far as it was ever upright to begin with) into a war FOR the favored, 'cooperative' drug lords and, of course, for the banksters and other beneficiaries of this trillion-plus dollar trade.

This upside down "war on drugs" has had other benefits to the Corporate Rulers--for instance, the FIVE MILLION peasant farmers brutally displaced from their lands benefits transglobal corporations who are, or will be, exploiting that land with the U.S. "free trade for the rich" agreement. It also hugely benefits War Profiteers and the many private entities now deeply involved in war, including police agencies, here and in Colombia, and their private contractors. It is such a boon to military/police-state agencies and contractors to be able to blow $7 BILLION of U.S. taxpayer money, in military aid alone to Colombia, on NOT getting the specified job done. The more they seem to be trying, the more cocaine moves out of Colombia to the U.S., Europe and elsewhere.

This is the hidden "dark matter" in U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, which has complicated Obama's LatAm policy in many ways, including how to cover up the Bush Junta's massive corruption and war crimes in Colombia.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Santos leads march for peace in Colombia

Santos leads march for peace in Colombia
Tuesday, 09 April 2013 21:10
Posted by Muhammad Iqbal

BOGOTA: Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos led a march for peace through Bogota Tuesday, calling for an end to decades of armed conflict at a time when peace talks in Havana are under fire from his predecessor Alvaro Uribe.

Hundreds of soldiers joined Santos and his cabinet ministers at the Plaza of the Fallen Heroes, one of seven starting points for the march by thousands of people, many of them in white T-shirts and carrying white flags.

"We have to end this nightmare of 65 years," said Santos, referring to the 1948 assassination of liberal leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, which ignited a long period of political unrest known as "La Violencia."

Santos has opened peace talks with the FARC, a leftist guerrilla group founded in 1964 that grew out of the lawlessness and ideological divisions of the period along with right-wing paramilitary groups and drug trafficking organizations.

But Santos' peace overtures have encountered stiff resistance from Uribe, a conservative hardliner who sought to destroy the FARC militarily during his 2002-2010 presidency, in which Santos served as defense minister.

More:
http://www.brecorder.com/world/south-america/114457.html