Q&A: Colombian ‘Peace
Walker’ Supports
Belligerent Status for
Rebels
Interview with Gustavo
Moncayo
CARACAS, (IPS) -
The hatred between
Colombian guerrilla
leaders and President
Álvaro Uribe is a major
factor hindering the
search for an agreement
to secure the release of
the hostages taken by
the insurgents, "peace
walker" Gustavo Moncayo,
whose son has spent 10
years in the hands of
the insurgents, told IPS.
Moncayo said he was in
favour of granting
belligerent status to
the guerrillas if that
could contribute to the
release of more than 40
hostages, and he
advocated creating an
international committee
to monitor the situation
of the captives,
starting with their
state of health.
The activist walked
1,492 kilometres from
Bogotá, his departure
point on Nov. 19, 2007,
to Caracas, where he
arrived on Jan. 17,
2008. He was received by
Venezuelan President
Hugo Chávez just when a
war of words was
escalating between the
two governments.
As he walked through the
Venezuelan countryside
and the streets of
Caracas, people greeted
him, clustering around
him, and young people
like Carmen Rosales
stopped him to have
their pictures taken
with him. "He’s a man of
peace. Mayor Freddy
Bernal (who handed him
the keys to the city) is
right to call him South
America’s Gandhi," she
said.
In an interview with IPS
correspondent Humberto
Márquez, Moncayo said
"‘I never pursued
glory,’ as the song goes
(lyrics by Spanish poet
Antonio Machado, sung by
Joan Manuel Serrat), but
my life changed when I
started walking and
everything became more
complicated. From being
a teacher in a small
provincial town, I’ve
turned into a symbol who
is recognised
everywhere."
Pablo Emilio, Moncayo’s
eldest son, was a
19-year-old army
corporal when he was
captured by the
Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC)
on Dec. 21, 1997. He has
been in their hands ever
since, and is one of the
hostages the FARC wants
to exchange for several
hundred guerrillas held
in Colombian prisons.
The teacher has covered
nearly 3,000 kilometres
in Colombia, France and
Venezuela for his cause.
Sun-tanned, wearing a
T-shirt bearing his
son’s photograph,
jogging pants and sports
shoes, he wears chains
around his neck and
forearms to symbolise
the oppression of his
loved ones, and uses a
staff which was a gift
from indigenous people.
IPS: After your long
marches, do you think
your son’s freedom is
closer at hand?
GUSTAVO MONCAYO: We’re
really looking for the
right key to open the
great door to this
labyrinth. President
Hugo Chávez found the
key to one door, and
obtained ‘proof of life’
documents, as well as
the freedom of two
hostages (Clara Rojas
and Consuelo González).
But we have to find the
key to the great door,
where all the rest of
the hostages are held,
including my son, Pablo
Emilio. But yes, I think
this effort is having
some sort of effect.
IPS: Where do you place
the responsibility for
your son’s situation?
Which side has been most
helpful, and which has
thrown up the most
obstacles?
GM: This is a real hot
potato. Both sides have
been making efforts and
gestures of support, but
at the same time they
are blocking progress.
We are caught in the
middle of this game. To
make progress, both
political and
humanitarian will are
necessary. The common
good should come before
sectorial interests.
Everything can be
achieved without
increasing the
suffering.
But many people, when
they gain power, are
dazzled by it. They
follow a policy they
believe is correct,
although for the vast
majority of people it is
not.
IPS: In the midst of the
political confrontation
between Colombia and
Venezuela and Presidents
Uribe and Chávez,
Caracas has proposed
that the Colombian
guerrillas should be
accorded belligerent
status, rather than
being regarded as
terrorists. Do you think
this might contribute to
the FARC giving some
ground on the hostage
issue?
GM: When organisations
like the International
Red Cross, which is
independent and
apolitical, talk about
how the belligerent
status could contribute
to the process of
freeing the hostages, I
think we need to take a
look at the proposal and
see how such a status
might be applicable.
Conferring belligerent
status on an armed
insurgent group does not
mean we are handing over
the country to them.
Uribe created
opportunities for talks
with the National
Liberation Army (ELN, a
smaller guerrilla group)
and the
(ultra-rightwing)
paramilitaries: why not
create a third dialogue,
with the FARC?
It is sad and painful to
see that instead of
thinking of a positive
solution for the people
who have been kidnapped,
it has become a personal
issue, rather than one
of principle, between
two rival individuals (Uribe
and FARC leader Pedro
Antonio Marín, better
known as "Manuel
Marulanda") whose lives
are marked by hatred or
the desire for revenge.
These people are also
committing abuses,
because they are
inflicting an emotional
crisis on an entire
generation by fomenting
hatred and conflict.
IPS: What will you do,
now that this walk is
over?
GM: We’ll see what other
activities we’ll take
up. One possibility is
to form a large
international team to
monitor the fulfilment
of human rights laws.
IPS: Would that include
visits by medical teams
to check on the health
of the hostages?
GM: That is essential.
We are in arrears on
this. It’s unthinkable
that our relatives might
be dying out there in
the jungle, while we
discuss technicalities
and argue over words.
We’re talking about
lives here, human
beings, and it’s sad but
true that we ourselves,
God forbid, may not live
to see the day when our
loved ones are released.
|
|
|
|
|
Gustavo Moncayo and one
of his daughters. |
|
|
| |
|
