Security Council

TOPIC II

The FARC-EP

Created about 37 years ago by a small group of Columbian Indians who felt that the course of the current Columbian government was moving in the wrong direction as it increased its involvement with the US. They felt that, combined, the forces of the two governments would eventually cause were the extinction of their people and their way of life.

Although FARC has always been considered a violent faction by the government of Columbia, they have always maintained that they are a peaceful group only driven to violent means because of the government they fight against.
"We do not wage war for its own sake. Faithful to the marquetalian ideals, every time the possibility to pursue different paths than those of the confrontation has appeared, everything has been put in the service of a political solution that would open the course toward reconciliation and reconstruction and establish the basis of the New Colombia. But invariably we have come up against the stubbornness and intransigence of a ruling class that only thinks of making use of these spaces to get us to submit." (Taken from FARC Homepage)
The situation, although always volatile, has become even more explosive since the early 1990's. During this time, the US was pouring more money then ever into Columbia under the auspices of stemming the drug flow coming out of Columbia. FARC claims that a large portion of this money went into training the Columbian military so they could eventually eradicate FARC. The Columbian government maintains that the majority of FARC's income comes from the sale of illegal drugs and any action against them is therefore justified.

The situation calmed somewhat when, in early 1999, FARC was given about 20% of Columbian land as a 'safe haven' and show of good faith by the Columbian government in the attempt to move peace talks forward. A demilitarized zone was added may of 1999, but FARC was also given a deadline by which the talks should be done and any land that FARC controlled would be turned back over to Government control. Since then, through delays and halts in the peace talks, the deadline has been repeatedly extended with the last extension coming from Columbian President Andres Pastrana on October 7, 2001. To add even more to the fire, the FARC has been very active lately (please read attached news articles) and is causing even more contention within the government as well as with the general public about what to do with FARC. As this situation is still developing, the Security Council could play a key part in the outcome.

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/
http://www.farc-ep.org/pagina_ingles/
http://www.ciponline.org/colombia/farc.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Colombia-Violence.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1561000/1561856.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1479000/1479505.stm
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Colombia-Clashes.html
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Colombia-Rebels.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/05/international/americas/05COLO.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/newsid_412000/412090.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1561000/1561888.stm