Nov 17, 2014
The ongoing peace dialogues between the FARC guerrillas
(Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the Colombian
government began in November 2012 and so to mark almost exactly two
years to the date since they began, we sit down with Gwen Burnyeat
and Andrei Gomez, two academics and intellectuals involved in a
group called Rodeemos el Dialogo
(https://rodeemoseldialogo.wordpress.com/).
ReD is a group of Colombians, and friends of Colombia, resident in
the UK and Colombia, who wish to express their interest in, and
active support for, the peace negotiations between the Colombian
Government and the FARC.The name of the group – ‘Rodeemos el
Diálogo’, ‘Let us surround the dialogue’ – draws its inspiration
from a popular Colombian saying referring to the need to provide
support to an important cause in difficult times.
ReD is convinced that the path towards the end of the armed
conflict in Colombia can only be assured through negotiations
between the Colombian Government and the FARC, which should be
based on the principles of truth, justice and reparation. They also
believe that a lasting peace in Colombia has to be built on the
active participation and wishes of the whole of Colombian
society.
I have had the opportunity to attend a couple of their meetings and
it has been refreshing to listen to people from all sectors of
society voicing their concerns and hopes for peace in Colombia. So,
if you want to hear about the peace dialogues and what is going on,
tune in!