ConflictBarometer_2016

THE AMERICAS
20 transitory demilitarization areas (ZVTN) and seven camps,
with the FARC being granted one week to arrive in these areas
and an additional six months after the ratification of the
peace deal to relinquish their weapons. Additionally, each
area was to be surrounded by a one-kilometer security zone
in which neither FARC members nor military forces were allowed
to be present. A UN mission requested by both parties
was to supervise the process and to collect the weapons
as well as to guarantee the safety of disarmed FARC members.
Furthermore, the agreement included amnesty for FARC
members accused of political and related crimes. FARC members
who committed war crimes would participate in a transitional
justice mechanism and face reduced prison sentences
or community service of up to eight years if they confessed.
Between January and May, both conflict parties granted a series
of concessions. For instance, the government released 16
of 30 imprisoned FARC members pardoned by President Juan
Manuel Santos the previous year, whereas the FARC refrained
from recruiting minors and released 170 members under the
age of 14 from their ranks. On June 2, Congress passed a
law shielding the future peace agreement from alterations by
subsequent administrations. Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo
Londoño alias Timochenko announcedabilateral ceasefire in
an event in Havana on June 23, which was attended by UNSG
Ban Ki-moon as well as several high-level state representatives.
The Constitutional Court approved the plebiscite to validate
the peace agreement on July 18. On September 26, Santos
and Londoño formally signed the peace deal in Cartagena.
In the run-up to the plebiscite, opponents of the peace
deal launched a 'No'-campaign spearheaded by former president
and leader of the Democratic Center party, Álvaro Uribe.
Among their main criticisms were alleged impunity for FARC
members, the possibility for FARC members to run for political
office, and insufficient measures for victim reparations.
In the plebiscite on October 2, voters rejected the peace deal
by a 50.2 percent to 49.8 percent margin with an electoral
turnout of about 38 percent. In reaction to the plebiscite
results, tens of thousands of people in different cities took
to the streets, demonstrating their support for the proposed
peace deal. Santos held several rounds of negotiations with
the FARC and 'No'-campaign representatives to discuss possible
amendments. On October 15, Santos extended the ceasefire
until the end of the year. On November 12, the government
and the FARC agreed on amodified accord incorporating
over 50 changes, such as the FARC's obligation to proclaim
their assets to the government in order to use them for compensating
victims. Opponents criticized the new agreement
as insufficient and too lenient with the FARC. On November
24, Santos and Londoño signed the revised peace deal in the
capital Bogotá, which was approved by Congress on December
1. The Constitutional Court approved the peace deal on
December 13. On December 28, Congress passed the law
granting amnesty to FARC members. One day later, the UN
Mission to Colombia announced it would extend the deadline
of the FARC's demobilization until January 2017, stating
that the government had failed to set up the demobilization
camps as agreed.
Following the FARC's unilateral ceasefire in July 2015, as well
as the bilateral ceasefire in June, violence between both parties
significantly decreased compared to last year. However,
113
several violent encounters in the departments of Meta, Caquetá,
and Bolívar resulted in at least six fatalities. For instance,
on April 20, an alleged FARC sniper killed a soldier in
Florencia, Caquetá. On July 12, three FARC members were injured
in aconfrontation with government troops in La Uribe,
Meta, constituting the first incident after the bilateral ceasefire
had taken effect. On November 17, security forces killed
two FARC members outside the ZVTN during an operation in
Santa Rosa, Bolívar, claiming that they had mistaken them for
members of the National Liberation Army [→ Colombia (ELN)].
Throughout the year, several FARC members deserted or split
off from the organization in disapproval of the peace process.
For example, on July 7, members of the FARC's First Front,
mainly operating in the departments of Guaviare and Vaupés,
announced they would refuse to demobilize and take part in
the peace process.
In response, the FARC expelled the unit. Authorities blamed
the First Front for a series of attacks throughout the second
half of the year, such as the launching ofamotorcycle bomb in
El Retorno, Guaviare, on August 11, which left two policemen
and three civilians injured. On plebiscite day, the First Front
reportedly set off an explosive device at a polling station
in Barranquillita, Guaviare. On December 13, the FARC announced
the removal of five ofits commanders, among them
aliases Gentil Duarte and John 40, for their refusal to disarm.
''Gentil Duarte” became leader of the First Front, whereas
''John 40” reportedly aligned himself with Los Urabeños [→
Colombia (neo-paramilitary groups, drug cartels)]. Overall, up
to 300 FARC members reportedly deserted after the rejection
of the first peace deal in the plebiscite. okl
COLOMBIA (INTER-CARTEL VIOLENCE,
NEO-PARAMILITARY GROUPS, LEFT-WING
MILITANTS)
Intensity: 4 | Change: | Start: 2013
Conflict parties: Los Urabeños vs. Los Rastrojos vs.
Bloque Meta vs. Libertadores del
Vichada vs. FARC vs. ELN
Conflict items: subnational predominance, resources
The limited war over subnational predominance and resources
between several neo-paramilitary groups, drug cartels
as well as the left-wing guerrillas National Liberation
Army (ELN) and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC), continued.
The groups fought for control over territory, drug production
and trafficking routes as well as the illegal exploitation of
resources such as gold. Another point of contention was the
control over local populations for extortion purposes.
As the peace negotiations between the FARC and the gov-