Papers - Conference 2009 - Institute of Latin American Studies

displaced people in relation to the National Protection System 1 and the fear tohighlight their particular condition will be analysed.2. References to the Colombian armed conflictIn order to understand the present dynamics of Colombian internal displacement,several specific elements and features of the conflict have to be taken intoconsideration, especially how the fragmented peace involves a dividedsovereignty between State and the al margen de la ley groups and consequentlylimits displaced people integration.Colombia has a long history of violence as a way of resolving political and socialconflict, in particular, the war between Liberales and Conservadores -Liberals andConservatives- during the Fifties and Sixties, known as La Violencia. This conflicthad a profound effect on the lives of thousands of peasant families. In that time,rural civil population became highly involved, both as actors and victims. As aconsequence, entire rural families belonging to the opposition political party weremassacred. It created memories of hate, spiritual vengeance and generalisedmistrust among the new generations of rural populations. Colombia’s armedconflict has raged for close to fifty years among guerrilla forces, the paramilitaryand the government. In this scenario, some authors think that forced migrations area war strategy adopted by armed groups to strengthen territorial strongholds,weaken civilian support of the enemy, seize valuable lands, and produce andtransport illegal drugs with ease.Violence is considered an endemic feature of Colombian history. During the lasttwo decades, violence has extended itself to all levels of society and has movedfrom the remote corners of the country, involving a mix of political violenceperpetrated by guerrilla forces, the army and paramilitary groups, (ex.1Law 387 of 1997 ”By means of which measures are adopted for the prevention of forced displacement, and forassistance, protection, socioeconomic consolidation and stabilization of persons internally displaced by violence in theRepublic of Colombia”.4