2024-09-01 11:29:59
In this order of ideas, the Departmental Reincorporation Roundtable was established in the Government of Huila, an instance of dialogue, agreement and coordination for the implementation of actions that favor the signatories of peace, and has the objective of verifying compliance with the provisions of the peace agreement signed in Havana, Cuba.
The signatories of the peace agreement also claim that they are victims of accusations and stigmatization by society, and even have registered cases of companies not providing them with job opportunities, precisely because they were part of the armed conflict.
There are around 220 people in the region who are committed to peace, and the vast majority are associated with 30 organizations.
Society points out
In relation to the event, Jorge Bermeo, delegate of the signatories of the peace, pointed out that they were at the launch of the Departmental Peace Roundtable, and five leaders remained in a provisional commission for one month, to comply with the norm and create the regulations, which will govern. “The Roundtable is important because from there we will regulate everything, we will give continuity to the reincorporation, in the thematic, political, cultural and social aspects, also in the subject of the same needs that our associative forms represent.”
All this consolidation is regulated in the six points of the agreement signed in Havana, Cuba, between the government of the then president of the Republic, Juan Manuel Santos, and the extinct FARC guerrilla group.
“There we can find the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform, which is to give land to those who have no land, to those who have little or to those who need it, and we request plots to work, and these measures will be regulated here. The Roundtable will be divided into three sections, the first is to evaluate the statute, and in December for approval, and in 2025 to implement the plans,” the spokesperson stressed.
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Benefited population
The leader explained that the fundamental idea of this organization is that it does not remain only at the departmental level; they hope that these bodies will also be created in the 37 municipalities.
“It must be made clear that it has been an effort by everyone, the work of some friendly organizations to be able to get here today, to leave the Roundtable constituted. Each department will have one, and as for the needs, they are the same as those of the peasantry, because I have always said that the peace process was not only for the 14,000 signatories, but that it will benefit a large part of the Colombian population. The importance of the Roundtable is to verify that what is established in the peace agreement is fulfilled,” said Jorge Bermeo.
The signs
Regarding the accusations against this population group, Diario del Huila spoke with a peace signer, who did not give her name citing security reasons.
“No matter how much we prepare ourselves, we must keep the certificates, because nowhere do they allow us to practice what we studied. The saddest thing is that we want to generate development in the ‘forgotten’ Colombia, and sometimes discrimination is seen even within the institutions themselves, because we have cases of structured entrepreneurial projects and as soon as they realize that it is delivered by a signatory, they push it aside,” the woman denounced.
The witness added that officials do not realize that not only individual development is sought, but also community development.
“In fact, there have been cases of colleagues who have returned to the ‘mountains’ and armed themselves, and 100% of this has to do with stigmatization, they did not find the ‘doors’ open. Citizens say that we like everything easy, we have sought support and it has not been possible, it has been of no use, seven years of training, most of us already professionals with the desire to contribute to this country in order to be accepted, this has not been possible and no matter how many good projects or initiatives we present, they are not taken into account,” denounced the signatory.
The woman calls on citizens to “disarm their hearts” “and allow us to be, to contribute to this country. What we are looking for is to try to make up for the damage done. We only ask that they let us structure a life plan, far from violence.”
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Let’s get out of ignorance!
Regarding the stigmatization of which the signatories are victims, Andrés Restrepo, coordinator of the Agency for Reincorporation and Normalization in Huila said: “We are in a society where people who work for peace, those who have left their weapons to build it, or simply community leaders, defenders of human rights, are singled out. It is a kind of ‘culture’ that has been restored little by little in society, where others are discredited, those who want to transform the community, those who seek to improve the quality of life of other people, among them are the signatories of peace, who today are peace-building agents.”
The official said that it is a fact that can be avoided, “it is something that is part of the culture of the people, but it can be overcome with pedagogy, because the more educated the ‘people’ are, the more respect they will have for those who work for peace and I believe that slowly the people of Huila will give them their place.”
“At this moment there are about 27 land applications, totaling more than 9,000 hectares already made. Now everything is the responsibility of the National Land Agency, who carry out the visits, the appraisals, to determine which farms can be acquired and delivered to the signatories of the peace as part of the Comprehensive Rural Reform,” said the official.
They support peace
In this regard, Jorge Lozano, Secretary of Peace and Human Rights of Neiva, indicated that they welcomed the initiative of the Departmental Government to establish the Reincorporation Roundtable, there was already one but it was modified.
“In this decree, the Departmental Government included Neiva, we had already expressed the request that we be an active part of the Roundtable and not a special guest. And today we have 85% of the signatories supporting peace, who have some commitments to society,” said the official.
The secretary revealed that all actions related to the aforementioned instance are carried out so that “the action plan can be fulfilled, and these benefits can be achieved for a stable peace.”
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Signatories murdered
And in relation to the effects left by public order in the region, Johana Elena Rojas, Ombudsman-Huila Section, made a presentation of these events in the Departmental Assembly: “We must remember the forced displacement that occurred in the municipality of La Plata in 2023. And confinement is a form of ruthless violence, imagine being in a remote place in the Department and suddenly not being able to have access routes to food, water, or anything vital that we need for our day to day and it is happening, it occurs on the limits of Caquetá, in the town of El Pato. Last period we had the arrival of 22 family units in Neiva ”.
“Last but not least are the threats, the selective killings in a targeted population, the signatories of peace, we have had 13 murders of people who signed the Peace Agreement, we do not know what was happening to them. We are in an ideological confrontation that is costing us our lives,” revealed the lawyer.