Bogota. More than a hundred former FARC members have left their political party, Comunes. This emerged from the 2016 peace agreement between the former guerrilla Farc-EP and the government of then President Juan Manuel Santos and is represented with ten seats in Congress. Those leaving announced that they would form a new political group.
Former Senator and former Farc-EP Commander Victoria Sandino explained on Twitter: “Collective withdrawal from the Comunes party because it does not represent us and its decisions do not correspond at all with our history of struggle.”
The exiters throw in their public letter The party accused in particular of nepotism and mismanagement in the administration, slander campaigns and the stigmatization of those who express criticism of what they consider to be abuses. There is no room for democratic debate in the Comunes party, authoritarianism and exclusion prevail. They also complain about a lack of solidarity on the part of the party leadership with the signatories of the peace agreement, 337 of whom have now been murdered.
In the letter they explained what they have been saying for several months: “The national leadership, led by Rodrigo Londoño, known as ‘Timochenko’, has distorted the collective struggle of the former Farc, now known as Comunes, so that we neither feel represented in the direction he has given the organization, nor do we recognize ourselves in his decisions.” This also includes the inadequate implementation of the peace treaty.
The letter was signed by well-known former Farc-EP members Victoria Sandino, Israel Zúñiga, Milton de Jesús Toncel Redondo, Benedicto González and more than 100 party members.
Sandino also announced that they will form a group, which will be called “Avanzar” (Advance). The goal is to start political work and promote the peace treaty and work closely with the territories and communities across the country.