“For the first time in the history of Colombia we can say that peace is achievable” stated Sergio Jaramillo, Colombia’s High Peace Commissioner during a lecture at Blavatnik School of Government at the University of Oxford, Thursday.
As part of an academic tour of the United Kingdom, Sergio Jaramillo stressed that the peace process was a “real transition to peace” and not simply a process of demobilization, disarmament and reintegration.
The High Commissioner also stated to students and professors at Oxford that “one cannot allow politics to be above peace,” and that the opponents of a process, which began more than two years ago, would eventually become “participants in the transition” towards a Colombia at peace.
During the conference ‘Agreements and building peace in Colombia’ the senior negotiator also addressed the current state of the Havana talks with the continent’s oldest guerrilla insurgency, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). “There is a difference between the idea of ??ending the conflict and peace in general. Peace is something we must achieve in Colombia, with the people and with the regions.”
Regarding the recent visits of five delegations of victims to Havana, Jaramillo, said it was a shocking and powerful experience: “Not only for what was said and the stories told during” but as a reminder as to why the Colombian Government and FARC have decided to sit down and talk.
Jaramillo expressed that challenges still face the Havana talks, such as the issue of security, transitional justice for FARC and trying to convince Colombians of a “new social pact” before the final implementation of an agreement. “We must create a vision to mobilize the population around these objectives,” said Jaramillo and reiterated the government’s line that should an agreement be reached, peace in Colombia would be a “win-win” for everyone.
Before his talk at Oxford University, Jaramillo, spoke with the BBC in which he stated that Ricardo Palmera, alias ‘Simon Trinidad’, a senior FARC commander currently serving a 60-year prison sentence in the United States, could be involved in the process as the talks in Havana continue.
Colombia’s Attorney General, Eduardo Montealegre, stated Wednesday that under Colombian law there aren’t obstacles to prevent Trinidad from participating in the talks. From Washington, John Feeley, Deputy assistant secretary for Latin America of the State Department said that his government was “not aware of any initiative” to release ‘Simon Trinidad.’
Simon Trinidad’s Caribbean Bloc masterminded during the 1990s several high-profile kidnappings along the coast, including the capture of Consuelo “La Cacia” Araújo.
Palmera was captured during a sting operation in Quito, Ecuador, in January 2004 and later that same year, was extradited to the U.S. on charges of drugs trafficking and money laundering.
