By Tito Drago
MADRID, Jun 12 2000 (IPS)

The Colombian government and the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) apparently have the same objective: peace based on social justice and free of foreign interference – according to the international conference held over the weekend in Spain.

The Colombian government’s delegate to the talks, Fabio Valencia, and FARC spokesman Raúl Reyes participated in the dialogue on the country’s peace process, coordinated by the Organisation of Solidarity with the Peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America, held 20 km outside of Madrid.

Valencia underscored that the fact that he and Reyes (whose true name is Luis Edgar Devia) had for the first time agreed to appear together in public is a sign that bodes well for achieving peace.

His optimism was seconded by Manuel Gala, rector of the University of Alcalá de Henares, the host institution for the talks with support from the Madrid municipal government.

Gala said that “speaking openly in public is already an historic commitment that means they want to continue the dialogue.”

The conference approved a final declaration, read by Gala, stating that “the problems of Colombia are internal matters that must be resolved by the Colombian people, without any kind of foreign interference.”

The declaration, passed unanimously, also says “it is the Colombian people who, as indicated by the Panel of Negotiation and Dialogue, must find appropriate solutions adjusted to the Colombian reality.”

Reyes has been sharply critical of the assistance US President Bill Clinton has offered for fighting drug trafficking and eradicating coca crops in Colombia.

“The so-called North American aid against coca is not aid, it is interventionism, it means more war,” said the FARC commander.

He said he is hopeful about the peace process and its success, but “if it fails there will be a civil war of unforeseeable consequences.”

Osiris Bayther, president of the Colombia-based non-governmental organisation Human Rights Defence Corporation, also made a declaration against foreign intervention in the matter.

“The serious interference of the powers of the North in the country’s life do not allow Colombia to develop its cohesion as a nation,” she said.

Armando Valbuena, president of the National Indigenous Organisation of Colombia, commented that the Plan Colombia would aggravate the country’s decades-long internal armed conflict.

Colombian President Andres Pastrana is attempting to collect 7.5 billion dollars to finance his three-year plan for peace, social action and the eradication of drug production.

A forum of donor countries is slated to meet in Madrid July 7 with sights on collecting 3.5 billion dollars – from the United States, the European Union, some Asian countries and international financial organisations – to contribute to the plan.

Four days prior to the forum, the Colombian government and the FARC will exchange sealed proposals for a cease fire, announced Valencia, who added his voice to the rejection of foreign intervention, though he considers it positive and necessary that the international community assists in achieving and validating peace in his country.

The government representative emphasised that in Colombia “horrible things are occurring for which we are all responsible, in our actions or by omission (…) Peace will not be achieved without social justice.”

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