1998
June 15: Victor G. Ricardo, Peace Commissioner, meets with "Tirofijo" or "sure-shot" in English (Pedro Antonio Marín and Manuel Marulanda Vélez -(he took this name in honor of a union leader from the 30´s), head of Farc (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia), main guerrilla movement. The "Mono Jojoy" (real name Jorge Suárez Briceño) was also present in the meeting. He belongs to the Farc secretariat and acts as Farc´s Defense Minister. This is a very important meeting for the result of the presidential elections, contested between Andrés Pastrana and the liberal candidate Horacio Serpa Uribe.
July 9: Pastrana, president-elect meets with Tirofijo and Mono Jojoy in the mountains. He travels to the mountains with Victor G. Ricardo. A 90 days demilitarized/détente zone (5 municipalities in the east part of the country) is announced. This should facilitate the beginning of the peace dialogues and setting of the preliminary agenda. It should start November 7, 1998 until February 7, 1999. The beginning of the meetings to adopt an agenda between government and Farc representatives is set to January 7, 1999.
August
3: President-elect Pastrana met with President Clinton, on a private visit.
The US supports Colombian Peace initiative.
August
7: President Pastrana, in power, announced the peace bonds (new taxes) to finance the
peace process.
August
20: Tirofijo sends a letter to Congress asking for the exchange law (ley de
canje) that would benefit Farc guerrilla members - political prisoners- captive
in Colombian prisons and soldiers and policemen held by the guerrilla. This is a
particular difficult issue since the Colombian Constitution has no such
provisions.
September
21: Another letter sent by Tirofijo on the same exchange issue.
September
30: Tirofijo asked for a list of possible exchangeable prisoners. He
considered the
exchange issue as part of the negotiating issues in the agenda.
October
2: Horacio Serpa, runner up in the presidential election, and Noemí Sanín,
third one, supported the peace process and giving more power to President Pastrana
to advance.
October
4: Some Congress representatives, Piedad Córdoba, Jaime Dussán and Amilkar
Acosta meet with Tirofijo.
October
5: Tirofijo sent a letter with a list of 452 exchangeable prisoners.
October
9: Situation with Alvaro Leyva. He is a politician, close to President Pastrana
and a credible negotiator in the Farc´s eyes. However, Costa Rica has given him
political asylum because of a judicial process related to the 8000 scandal (drug
lords money into political campaigns, including president Samper campaign in
1993 and 1994) undertaken by the Fiscal General (Attorney-General), Alfonso Gómez
Méndez. Leyva is
apparently working as a facilitator between the government and Farc-Ep from Costa Rica.
October 14: The government made official the demilitarized/détente zone in the five municipalities (Meta: Uribe, Vista Hermosa, Macarena, Mesetas and Caquetá: San Vicente del Caguán) and gives political status to Farc-Ep. 42.000 square kilometers, the aproximate size of Switzerland.
October
16: Farc´s negotiation issues to the dialogues called "Plataforma
para un Gobierno de Reconstrucción y Reconciliación Nacional"
(Platform for a Government of National Reconstruction and Reconciliation) are:
1. Negotiated solutions to the country’s war; 2. Military Reform so that the
armed forces deal with the defense of the national sovereignty and the Colombian
borders, adapted budget to a Peace situation, respect of human rights. A
civilian police force with a preventive mission under the umbrella of the
Interior Ministry; 3. Political Reform with democratic political participation
in the decision-making process. General Prosecutor popular election and a
one-chamber Congress; 4. Social Development, private investment in key economic
sectors such as energy, communications, public services, roads, ports and
natural resources exploitation but with State ownership; 5. Social welfare
should benefit from 50% of national budget, in activities to promote employment,
education, health and housing. Nowadays, most of public resources are destined
to bureaucracy, debt service, defense and justice expenses; 6. Taxes, the IVA
(impuesto al valor agregado/value added tax) should only be established for
sumptuary goods and services. Most of the taxes should be paid by those who have
the capital; 7. Agrarian Policy, latifundio elimination, protect the rural
production and make emphasis on agro -industrial processes, agrarian reform and
land redistribution; 8. Natural Resources, renegotiate the contracts with the
TNCs; 9. Foreign Affairs, declare a 10-year debt payment moratoria, military
pacts revision; 10. Drug trafficking, solution to the social and economic
problem related and crops eradication.
October
28: President Pastrana made a state visit to the United States.
October
31: Farc met with the "Defensor del Pueblo", José Fernando Castro,
official in charge of human rights and displaced persons. The peace negotiations
are been held in the middle of the military confrontation.
November
1: Farc attacked the city of Mitú, Vaupés Department (Departments are the
political-regional divisions of the country), in the Colombian and Brazilian
border.
November 7: Demilitarized/détente zone started with verification by an independent commission, the so-called "Comisión de Acompañamiento para la Zona de Distensión", with the participation of Colombian nationals and the international community. Commission that is not into place yet.
November 9: Problem with "Batallón Cazadores" in the demilitarized/détente zone. Farc demanded all military personnel to be out of the zone. The government did not consider the "Batallón Cazadores" as part of the initial deal.
November
15: Tirofijo invited the executive, legislative and judicial powers to
Caquetania to talk about the exchange law.
November
18: The Courts announced their refusal to meet with Tirofijo.
November
23: Defense Minister statements against Farc blaming them for delaying the peace process.
November
25: President Pastrana asked for a cease-fire that involves all sides of the
conflict- all guerrilla groups, paramilitary and government forces.
November
27: Victor G. Ricardo meets with Tirofijo once more. Farc accepted the exchange
issue to be part of the dialogue and not a pre-condition.
December
14: Victor G. Ricardo efforts to set a common understanding on the
demilitarized/détente zone. Meets in Caquetania with Farc. The meeting was also
attended by Jaime Bernal Cuéllar, General Prosecutor, Juan Manuel Ospina,
Zulema Jattín and Roberto Camacho, Congress Peace Commission members. The
Congress is important in the event of the Exchange Law. A possible trade-off
formula could be a probation for the guerrilla members demanded by Farc without
elimination of judicial processes. Any formula would exclude prisoners’
accused of committing kidnapping and massacres. The government announced the
January 7 meeting between President Pastrana and Tirofijo to start the process.
December 20: Batallón Cazadores packs out of San Vicente del Caguán in San José del Guaviare, Caquetá.
December
21: Victor G. Ricardo met with top Farc negotiators to discuss the
beginning of the dialogues. The exchange issue will be dealt in a separate
negotiation that should begin on January 20.
December
28: Victor G. Ricardo met with Farc in San Vicente del Caguán. This group
proposed 5 negotiaton tables, one in each demilitarized/détente zone
municipality. That is to say one in San Vicente del Caguán, one in La Macarena,
La Uribe, Mesetas and Vistahermosa. Victor G. Ricardo announced to Farc that President
Pastrana will be taken 70 security personnel to the January 7 meeting. Farc are
also taken security measures in the area under their control. The San Vicente del Caguán Peace
Council is asking for participation in the dialogues. The government has not comment on this issue.
December
29: Pastrana reiterated its invitation to Fidel Castro as a facilitator of the
Colombian Peace Process.
Apparently, Pastrana will discuss this issue with Castro during his visit to
Havana on January 14-16, 1999
