Talking About Colombia

Two weavers promised an Emperor a new suit of clothes that was invisible to those who were unfit for their positions, stupid, or incompetent. When the Emperor paraded before his subjects in his new clothes, no one dared to say that he didn’t see any suit of clothes. Then, a child cried out, “But he isn’t wearing anything at all!”

To shouts of “liar” and “get out,” President Santos was loudly jeered and booed by dozens of spectators at a 10-kilometer run April 19 in Bogota to benefit soldiers wounded in combat. The frenzied scene repeated itself when he visited Medellin the next day.

The outrage was sparked by the April 15 attack by the FARC’s Miller Perdomo Mobile Column in which the FARC brutally killed eleven soldiers and wounded a dozen others, who were part of a military patrol in the south-western province of Cauca. The FARC used grenades, explosives and firearms. FARC Commander alias Pastor Alape, a negotiator in Havana, said the army casualties occurred in a “defensive action.” Meanwhile, President Santos called the attack “deliberate” and ordered the armed forces to resume bombing FARC camps.

So it is that the fabric of the peace talks in Havana is disintegrating, even more so as facts are made explicit.

Fact number one: President Santos now appears even more desperate for his legacy to be tied to the peace talks: He may seek special powers, via a referendum, to negotiate and seal a deal with the FARC without congressional or public review, something his government denied, but who many suspect is in the works. How Hugo Chavez of him.

Fact number two: Critics demand to know why President Santos released a Chinese ship carrying 100 tonnes of explosives, plus 2.6 million detonators, 99 projectile heads and around 3,000 canon shells, the supplies of guerrilla warfare. After its release, the ship went on to its destination in Cuba illegally. Sketchy. Shady.

Fact number three: President Santos appears intent on giving the FARC the social and legal legitimacy they need to enter politics. He has even suggested that drug trafficking, which the FARC have finally admitted to, be considered a political crime. This would mean the peace talks are, in essence, a huge money laundering scheme.

Emerging facts would prompt the child, who called out the naked emperor, to shout, “But how could any of this be the result of 33 months of talking peace?”

Patience is running low. Anger is boiling.

The negotiating table in Havana, Cuba.