by Rev. Sarah Henken, PC(USA) mission co-worker | Special to Presbyterian News Service
LOUISVILLE – A peace accord ratified between the Colombian government and the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) guerrilla group in late 2016 has been in the process of implementation this year, and former guerrilla combatants have settled in 25 “transitional normalization zones” around the country. The process of transitioning into civilian life has included educational programs and the laying down of arms through a three-part handover to the United Nations. The arms handover is now 100 percent — a hopeful sign for the construction of peace in Colombia.
The Rev. Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the PC(USA), spoke at a September 2016 ecumenical church consultation in Colombia. World Mission’s Valdir Franca was also part of the delegation. Photo by Randy Hobson.
The conflict between the FARC and the Colombian government, which lasted over 50 years, is one of the major elements of the broader situation of armed conflict in Colombia; efforts to find a peaceful exit strategy with the smaller ELN guerrilla group (National Liberation Army) and with successor organizations of the right-wing paramilitaries are still in the early stages. The Colombian government’s registry of victims of the armed conflict has passed 8 million people, around 17 percent of the population, with the largest number being victims of forced displacement. It is estimated that over 200,000 have died in the violence.
The Rev. Diego Higuita, general secretary of the Presbyterian Church of Colombia, was present for the final handover in the transitional zone near his hometown of Dabeiba. No photography was allowed, but he shared the experience through the following letter to colleagues from Presbyterian and Reformed churches who have been supporting the peace process in various ways.
I am pleased to share my testimony of an experience I had on June 26 in the company of the Rev. Luis Fernando Sanmiguel. We were present in the “transitional normalization zone” near Dabeiba, Antioquia, at Chimiadó-Llano Grande in order to bear witness to the final arms handover of the fifth and 34th fronts of the FARC guerrillas.
The activity began at 8 a.m. with the arrival of delegates from the High Commissioner for Peace, representatives of the Antioquia governor’s office and municipal authorities. Three people — a delegate from the United Nations, a representative of the Presbyterian Church and a representative of the Antioquia governor’s office — participated in the main ceremony. Ten of us (two more delegates from the U.N., two high-ranking army officials, two FARC officials, a representative of Colombia’s High Commissioner for Peace, another delegate from the governor’s office, the local mayor and myself) were able to observe the activity from a distance of 10 meters.
After being duly registered (in physical and digital archives) and sorted, the armament was placed in two containers sealed with padlocks. The keys were left in the hands of a U.N. official who said the weapons “will never be fired again.”
Amid religious and cultural celebrations, coffee, singing and joy, the text from Isaiah 65:25 came to mind and was made reality in that moment. Government, guerrillas, churches, rural communities, army and police all experienced an act more than symbolic and together sang a hymn to peace that should echo through every corner of the country. Unafraid and with eyes full of hope, representatives from each sector gathered at a single table to break bread together. And in conclusion, with a single voice we asked that the government now fulfill its part and never again turn its weapons on the Colombian people.
In hope,
Rev. Diego Higuita
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