Investing in Colombia is key to peace and development. After half a century of armed conflict, the formal opening of negotiations with the FARC in October 2012 in Oslo was a historic turning point for the country. And that process begins to bear fruit, according to the Government. "I'm more optimistic than I was a year ago, but still a long way to go, we are not negotiating with angels," said the president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, during his participation in the conference Investing in Colombia.
Peace talks with the guerrillas have been a dialogue between Santos and the Spanish president Felipe González Government, moderated by José Manuel Calvo, deputy director of HOME, organizer of the conference newspaper. "Ending Peace has a goal in itself, but imagine what it would to develop, overall economic infrastructures," said Gonzalez. Just the fact that it has initiated a dialogue has already had its effect on the economy, which last year received a record 16,000 million in foreign direct investment.
Santos is confident that negotiations end up with an agreement, but admitted it will not be easy. "The risks are always there. It's much more popular to war, "said the president, who was formerly Minister of Defence with the government of Alvaro Uribe. During those years blows to the FARC, which soon was beheaded were struck. "When I was minister of defense, I managed the most telling blows against the guerrillas. Without these shocks, there would be no negotiation. But every war has to end in some kind of agreement and so we started this process, "he justified.
Regarding the development of the negotiations, said: " We have closed two important items on the agenda: an agreement on rural development and political participation." The aim is that the violent groups lay down their arms and " continue to pursue their ideals through democratic means." It is the first time Santos has insisted, that will reach an agreement on these two points. "It gives us reason for optimism," he said. Now it is trading around a point that is a " poison arrow ": drug trafficking. Colombia has been the last 40 years one of the largest suppliers of cocaine. Agree to the guerrilla, instead of helping drug trafficking, assist the Government to combat it, would be a vital issue to make " peace be viable and sustainable," said Santos.
Felipe González, who for years now follows closely Colombian, Santos matched in their optimism, and has gone further: " The probability of peace is clearer than ever. If the guerrillas had not had a clear sense of defeat negotiation would have been more difficult. " González considers it important that an agreement has been reached on earth, which is the ideological basis of the guerrillas and the guerrillas have accepted change as Calvo said, " boots for votes." "Those first two points, the guerrillas reached an agreement on the ground and opt for democratic political participation, the mean time of irreversibility of the process," said the former Spanish.
A Santos there are things you up at night: "I worry that [ the FARC ] commit some act of irrationality, an attack, making it impossible to continue, let explode into a thousand pieces the process." But mostly concerned about the victims: "We are thinking of the victims from the beginning the government. They are the center of the conflict settlement. We passed a law to repair the victims. We did it because 50 years of war many open wounds and if we have peace in the long term we must heal these wounds. "
Gonzalez stressed the importance tended definitive end to the conflict in the development of Colombia and says he believes one of the most difficult issues will be justice, that is, what to do with the guerrillas who have committed so many crimes but are willing to accept peace. " Justice can not be an element that denies peace. We are negotiating under the umbrella of the International Criminal Court and we are looking very closely. We must be realistic. We can not negotiate something that does not pass the Colombian people, there will be no impunity. The crux is how justice. Where one draw the line between justice and peace. That's the problem, but we have to be practical and realistic. "
On his estrangement from his predecessor, former President Uribe, Santos has been very clear: " If we are not reconciled to the FARC, how can I go to reconcile with Uribe tomorrow? ". The current Colombian President Uribe said that he did not like to tell his government with opposition members, but Santos defends his initiative because, he said, has made possible major reforms in Colombia. That same spirit led him to reconcile with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Ecuador's Rafael Correa. " Being civilized is what touches: it is what gives us the ability to move, because the polarization sealed us."
Tags: Colombia, dividends, pay, peace, starts