Colombian Peace Process

(Disclaimer, these are not my opinions about the Colombian Peace Process. They are taken from a debate in which I had to pretend that I agreed with them. Still, they can inform you about the opinions of some Colombians who do agree with the process.)

I believe in peace. I believe in a Colombia where its citizens can live without fear, where we create a better country for our children. A country in which our peasants can return to cultivate their lands, where they can travel to all corners of our country. A Colombia where there are more resources for education, and less for war. Where we can give the environment a break. 50 years of war are more than enough, it is time to celebrate peace for the right to a dignified life for all Colombians. That is why I believe the Colombian Peace Process is needed. Here are some proposals of ways we can improve the Colombian Peace Process:

• For the reintegration of demobilized youth, access to voluntary education between the ages of 18 and 25 must be guaranteed, through study scholarships, in order to guarantee the NO repetition of criminal behavior.
• As the agreements were proposed, there was a dangerous vacuum on the political rights of those responsible for crimes against humanity. That is why it is essential that those responsible for crimes against humanity lose their political rights at least during the term of their custodial sentence.
• Compensating those affected by violence. We must elaborate and develop a serious plan that commits the State, private companies and the International Community so that we can restore the deep wounds left by the confrontation.
• It is clear that a solution to the production and commercialization of narcotics is needed. It is necessary to begin the substitution of crops for illicit use, and the creation of programs for the prevention of consumption and public health.
• Finally, the definitive surrender of ALL the recruited children and the surrender of ALL the kidnapped at the head of the FARC must be clearly and concretely established. The State must guarantee the full reintegration of recruited children into their families. The State must strengthen the Program for the Care of Children and Adolescents who are victims of violence at the head of the ICBF.

To carry out these proposals, it is not necessary to raise taxes on citizens, instead, it is necessary to reduce the amount of useless positions that exist in our government and lower the salary of others.

It is also necessary to have a peace process with the ELN. This does not remove the fact that the peace process with the FARC has not been effective, if not instead the benefits it brought will be increased. When the peace agreement with the FARC was made, the objective was peace and this will only be finalized when it is achieved with other groups such as the ELN. It is obvious that many more specifications and negotiations are going to be needed, but in order to end the conflict, everything is viable.