Rally first – think after!

Millions of Colombians will rally today on the streets of many cities around the world. I just say: beat the ground, pals. Walk side by side with your family, your children, your neighbours, and even your enemies if it is necessary. Shake the planet like a gigantic earthquake which forces the Crusaders of the Cocaine Trade, and their sinister, manipulative supervisor in charge at the Casa de Nariño, go down from their evil horses. Make the world tremble so that all FARC-soldiers must drop their firearms. And, when you stop walking, sit down at a park bench and think of the millions displaced, the millions without fresh water and enough food, the millions longing for education, the millions unemployed… Has your government really done enough? Have YOU really done as much as necessary? Is it sufficient to walk and sing together and wave the flag? How much have today’s rallies changed the lives of the Colombians in need? Rally first – but do not forget to think after!

Desperate black farmers vs. Swedish white-collar desperados

The top leaders from the G8-countries meet in Hokkaido, Japan. Can it make the world a better place? Better to whom?

The powerful media’s and political parties’ selected men and women meet in Visby, at the Baltic Sea island of Öland. Can it make Sweden a better country? Better to whom?

 

I actually celebrate the act of meeting with other human beings in order to debate and try to agree on issues like the growing impact of climate change or just how to keep billions of people fed during the food price crisis. I believe, it is in the public sphere where freedom best is constructed.

 

But please, excuse my pessimistic soul; I do not think any of those meetings would make a better difference for the masses of the world or the nine million living Sweden.

 

The train of progress has left many people behind. And that train is one crazy machine going faster and faster every year, because fast is never enough. Therefore, in the Swedish province of Östergötland we have seen the last three years a shameless gang of politicians expending about 30 million dollars from the taxpayers in lobby activities for The Eastern Link or ”Ostlänken”.

 

 

The Ostlänken is a railway with 150 kilometres of double track providing a fast passenger service between Järna and Linköping and cutting journey times to Stockholm to less than one hour.

 

To build The Easter Link is, according to those politicians, to do the best for Sweden’s development, environment and citizens. This is the message they are now trying to sell at the so called “Almedalsveckan” in Visby.

 

One tenth of the money thrown away in the Ostlänken project could have made a real difference for Berito Alutu, a farmer in his 60s, and thousands more inhabitants at the village Katine in Uganda. They need ox-ploughs to survive, but their destinies will never be a priority to those Swedish commodity white-collar desperados travelling at high-speed in the train of human history.

 

FARC closed to the end? Not yet…

Michael Shifter, an expert on Latin American politics at the Inter-American Dialogue, says to NEWSWEEK’s Katie Paul that FARC’s struggle against the Colombians, it’s basically over. Michael Shifter is not alone in declaring the nera end of FARC. Many opinion makes around the world agreed in interpreting the spectacular rescue of Ingrid Betancourt as a clear sign that FARC lost the war. But such and analysis discloses lack of knowledge about the history of the guerrilla movement and Colombia. FARC’s future existence is namely something very important for the Colombian army, its generals and Alvaro Uribe’s government. Without FARC, the generals would loose the main excuse to occupy the country and hunt those groups within the civilian population who for year have been starving for social justice. Fascism is the ideological ground on which the military power’s “democratic” repression is built. And the central pillar holding up the structure is the FARC-guerrillas and the fight against them. Take away the pillar and the whole construction will collapse. As the Colombian journalist Maria Jimena Duzán states in today’s issue of the weekly Semana: President Alvaro Uribe became the powerful politician he is today thanks to FARC. The same applies to Ingrid Betancourt. President Uribe was an irrelevant, crooked province legislator until the day the FARC killed his father. Ingrid Betancourt was before the kidnapping just one of several young, blaring and in reality insignificant dolphins from the influential, affluent families, which every four years get elected or buy a chair in the congress or senate. Without FARC’s brutal treatment, none of them would be where they are today. I also wish the elimination of FARC. But I’m not a dreamer. FARC has many years of “fighting” ahead. The guerrillas will continue to exist as long as it is convenient to the power elites and the different syndicates controlling Colombia. As The Boston Globe’s editorial puts it: ”In Colombia, the national rescue mission isn’t over yet”.

FARC cerca del final? Todavia no…

Muchos columnistas y analistas alrededor del mundo interpretan la liberación espectacular de Ingrid Betancourt como un signo claro de que la guerrilla de las FARC estan llegando a su final. Pero ese análisis revela una cierta ignorancia sobre la historia del movimiento guerrillero y de Colombia. Asegurar la futura exitencia de las FARC es algo muy importante para las fuerzas armadas, sus generales y el presidente Alvaro Uribe.

Sin las FARC presentes, los generales perderian la excusa principal para ocupar el país y perseguir los sectores de la población civil que durante años han exigido justicia social. El facismo es la base ideológica sobre la cual el despotismo “democrático” de los militares ha sido construido. Y el pilar central que aguanta el peso de la construcción es la guerrilla de las FARC y la lucha contra esta. Le quitas ese pilar y todo se viene abajo.

Porque así como la periodista Maria Jimena Duzán lo explica hoy en Semana: el president Alvaro Uribe se convirtió en el politico poderoso que es hoy gracias a las FARC. Lo mismo vale en el caso de Ingrid Betancourt.

El presidente era simplemente un político de provincia, insignificante y corrupto, hasta el momento en que su padre fue asesinado por la guerrilla. Ingrid Betancourt era antes del secuestro sólo uno de varios delfines, — jóvenes, gritones y políticamente triviales – pertenecientes a las familias prominentes y ricas del país, que cada cuatro años son elejidos a o se compran una silla en el congreso o el senado. Sin el tratamiento inhumano de las FARC, ninguno de los dos estaría dónde están hoy.

Yo también quiero que esa guerrilla se acabe pronto. Pero no me hago ilusiones. Las FARC tienen adelante muchos años más de “lucha”. Esa guerrilla va a continuar existiendo siempre que sea lo que le favorezca a las élites de poder y los diferentes carteles que controlan Colombia. Como la editorial del periódico americano The Boston Globe lo denuncia: ”In Colombia, the national rescue mission isn’t over yet”. 

FARC nära slutet? Inte ännu…

En hel del opinionsbildare runtom i världen är rörande överens om att tolka den spektakulära befrielsen av Ingrid Betancourt, som ett tydligt tecken på att FARC-gerillan är nära slutet. Men en sådan tolkning tyder endast på bristande kunskap i gerillarörelsens och Colombias historia. FARC:s fortsatta existens är nämligen något oerhört viktigt för den colombianska armén, dess generaler och regeringen under Alvaro Uribes ledning.

Utan FARC skulle generalerna gå miste om ursäkten för att kunna ockupera landet och förfölja de delar av den civila befolkningen som i åratal har hungrat efter social rättvisa. Fascismen är den ideologiska grunden på vilken militärmaktens ”demokratiska” despotism är uppbyggd. Och den centrala pelare som håller bygget på plats är FARC-gerillan och kampen mot dem. Tar du bort pelaren och hela verket raseras.

 

Som den colombianska journalisten Maria Jimena Duzán påpekar i dagens nummer av veckotidskriften Semana: Presidenten Alvaro Uribe blev den mäktiga politikern han är i dag tack vare FARC. Samma sak gäller för Ingrid Betancourt.

 

Presidenten var en obetydlig, korrupt provinspolitiker fram till dess att hans far blev mördad av gerillan. Ingrid Betancourt var före kidnappningen endast en av flera unga, ettriga och i praktiken obetydliga strebrar från landets förmögna, prominenta familjer, som var fjärde år väljs till eller köper sig en stol i kongressen eller senaten.

Utan FARC:s obarmhärtiga behandling skulle ingen av dem befinna sig där de är i dag.

 

Jag vill också se att FARC försvinner snarast möjligt. Men jag är inte någon dagdrömmare. Jag vet att FARC har många år kvar av ”kamp” framför sig. Gerillan kommer utan tvekan att fortsätta existera så länge det gagnar makteliten och de olika syndikat som styr Colombia. Resan mot fred är fortfarande lång, som tidningen The Boston Globes ledare summerar det: ”In Colombia, the national rescue mission isn’t over yet”.