Page 305 - Conflitti Militari e Popolazioni Civili - Tomo II

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excluding a priori the possibility of dialogue and negotiation.
Both guerrilla and paramilitary groups, in distinct fashions, have not only based their ac-
tion upon a political discourse, but also appear as real parastatal organizations. Under their
control they have developed those functions including public order and justice administra-
tion that should be a prerogative of the state institutions.
Regarding that, it is enough to consider the indisputed support these groups receive by
people living in those areas and having in the coca cultivation, their only source of suste-
nance.
as we saw, the Farc’s political discourse, even though anachronistic , has been intact
48
and coherent for more than forty years and it is evident that the proceeds from illegal activi-
ties have to be considered not as the aim but as the means of their action. This is confirmed
by the very hard living conditions which exclude any motive tied to the greed and to the
desire of personal enrichment of activists and leaders. Since the beginning, in fact, Farc’s
49
militants have devoted their entire life to the fight, relegated in the Colombian forest, without
perceiving a pay and moreover under a rigorous militaristic discipline .
50
Also, regarding the paramilitary phenomenon, in spite of its tight ties with narcotraf-
ficking, we can certainly say it is the result of the rebellion and the support of some parts of
the society, including the State apparatus itself, even if in an ambiguous way, operating as a
counterinsurgent force in defense of the status quo . another aspect to highlight is the vast
51
popular support paramilitaries have always had in many areas under their control.
Defining the Colombian conflict as a “new” conflict exclusively originated by economic,
predatory and criminal causes and aimed to hit the civil population means not considering a
half-century period of Colombia’s history. We agree with Daniel Pécaut when he writes about
“war against the society” . Undoubtedly, inside a country prostrated by a forty-year war,
52
the principal victim is the civil population, but it is also correct to list all main protagonists
of the armed clashes: guerrilla, paramilitaries and the State. All these illegal formations have
always shown remarkable abilities not only in adapting themselves successfully to the new
dynamics of the globalization process, both at economic and communications level, but also
in exploiting all the internal opportunities to impose their control on vast areas of the country

48 Regarding this aspect it is explicit the title of one of the most important studies on the insurgency: Pizarro
l.e., Insurgencia sin revolucion (Insurgency without revolution), Bogotà, Tercer Mundo Editores, 1996.
49 It is interesting a Farc ex-combatant’s testimony in Càrdenas J.A., Los parias de la guerra, (Bogotá, Edicio-
nes Aurora, 2005): “[...]I think Farc should exist for ever because they are the justest [...] during the “detente
zone” they strengthened a lot and gained a great deal of money and weapons but they never gave money to
ordinary soldiers” (our translation).
50 An example of this fact could be the recent murder (1st March 2008) of Luis Edgar Devia (Raul Reyes),
who was one of the most prestigious Farc’s leader, during a Colombian Army’s attack against an insurgency
campsite in ecuador.
51 As Romero and Duncan assert in their studies.
52 See Pécaut D., Guerra contra la sociedad, Bogotà, Editorial Planeta colombiana, 2001. It is interesting
underline that Pécaut, in Crònica de cuatro décadas de polìtica colombiana (2006), agrees with many “new
wars” analysts on stressing criminal aspects and civil society victimization, but at the same he time point out
the political aspect of the current conflicts. In fact, according to the author, the general decreased political
interest is mostly due to the ‘disenchantment’ process that characterizes the present age at a global level.