La Violencia

     The FARC militia continued to blow up power lines and to kill people. Meanwhile, the FARC/government group, on its grand tour of Europe, visited the place in Spain where in 1957 Laureano Gómez and Alberto Lleras Camargo signed the power-sharing agreement which was to end la violencia. Supposedly this was to set a precedent. The FARC people enjoyed the wining and dining, but they seemed pretty dim. Their spokesman Raúl Reyes expressed regret at the assassination by ETA of Basque Socialist leader Fernando Buesa. When angry Colombians pointed out that FARC continued to kill many peaceful Colombians, he tried to shift the blame, saying that in any case Colombians were not very concerned about the killings. This enraged the Colombians even more. The group then took of for Paris. Meanwhile in Washington, a spokesman for Human Rights Watch blamed the Colombian army. Presumably, but not necessarily, he had no ties to the FARC.

Ronald Hilton - 2/24/00