Santa Fe de Bogota, November 20, 1992
Seriores Coordinadora Guerrillera Sim6n Bolivar:
As a group of convinced democrats who oppose violence and authori-
tarian solutions of all kinds, we have the moral right to question the legiti-
macy and the effectiveness of the actions that you have pursued now for
many years.
In the current circumstances, we oppose the means you use to carry on
your struggle. Armed struggle, instead of leading to greater social justice, has engendered all kinds of extremisms, such as the resurgence of reac-
tionary violence, paramilitary forces, merciless crime and excesses commit-
ted by the armed forces, which we condemn with equal energy.
We don’t believe that you represent the popular will. On the contrary, your actions have created a climate of political and ideological confusion
which is converting Colombia into a battle camp in which the most com-
mon form of free expression is that made through the barrel of a gun. Such a situation cannot lead to a common dream of a democratic and joy-
ous society.
Your war, understandable in its origins, now goes against the grain of
history. Today your standard tactics include kidnapping, coercion and
forced contributions, all of which are an abominable violation of human
rights. Terrorism, which you had always condemned as an illegitimate
form of revolutionary struggle, is today a daily recourse. Corruption, which
you also rejected in the past, has contaminated your own ranks through
your dealings with drug traffickers. How is it that you ignore the traffick-
ers’ reactionary nature as well as their contribution to the breakdown of
our communities and society?
The untold and useless deaths on both sides, as well as the systematic
attacks against the national wealth and the ecological disasters that you
have caused are a price too high for a country that has already paid too
much. Colombia deserves better. It is time for a deep and patriotic reflection, and a radical rectification of
years of mistakes. It is time to search for a new and innovative form of
politics more in tune with the realities of today’s world. Your war, gentle-
men, lost its historical significance long ago. Recognizing this fact in good
faith will also be a political victory.
Antonio Caballero, journalist; Gabriel Garcia Mirquez, writer, Nicolas
Buenaventura, historian; Fernando Botero, painter; Eduardo Pizarro, soci-
ologist; Apolinar Diaz Callejas, lawyer; Alvaro Camacho, sociologist; Daniel
Samper, journalist; Luis Alberto Restrepo, philosopher; Salomon
Kalmanovitz, economist; Gonzalo Sanchez, historian (plus another 50 sig-
natures).
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