Peace
Timeline: 2002
Pre-1999
| 1999 | 2000 | 2001
March
12, 2002
ELN and
Colombian government negotiators meeting in Havana announce that "we
have begun study of a cease-fire accord" that would include international
verification.
- [Español]
Joint ELN-Colombian government communiqué, March 12, 2002
February
23, 2002
 |
Senator
and presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt is kidnapped by the
FARC while traveling by land to the former demilitarized zone on
a mission to advocate respect for the rights of the zone's residents.
The FARC gives the Colombian government one year to negotiate the
exchange of Betancourt and five other kidnapped legislators for
FARC prisoners in Colombian jails. |
February
20, 2002
 The
FARC hijacks a domestic airliner, forcing it to land on a stretch of
highway in Huila department. All passengers are freed but one,  Colombian
Senator Jorge Gechem Turbay, the fifth member of Colombia's Congress
to be kidnapped by the guerrillas since June 2001.
President
Pastrana responds by announcing the end of the three-year-old talks
with the FARC. Aerial bombardment, the first phase of military operations
to re-take the demilitarized zone, begins at midnight.
- [Español]
Pastrana speech, February 20, 2002
- [Español]
Resolution ending FARC peace process, February 20, 2002
- [Español]
FARC communiqué, February 21, 2002
- [Español]
Statement from Colombian non-governmental peace organizations
February
19, 2002
FARC and
government representatives exchange cease-fire proposals. The government
proposal calls for maintaining guerilla fronts in small zones to keep
them separate from the armed forces.
February
14, 2002
 Several
presidential candidates, including Horacio Serpa (pictured), Luis Eduardo
Garzón and Ingrid Betancourt travel to the demilitarized zone
for a meeting scheduled as part of the peace talks' timetable. All candidates
sharply criticize the guerrillas' ongoing offensive against civilian
targets.
February
5, 2002
A FARC
offensive, much of it sabotage of infrastructure and bombings of urban
areas, further increases skepticism about the peace process. The Colombian
government issues a proposal for a six-month cease fire.
- [Español]
FARC-government communiqué, February 6, 2002
- [Español]
FARC communiqué, February 6, 2002
- [Español]
Draft government cease-fire proposal, February 4, 2002
- [Español]
Press conference by High Commissioner for Peace Camilo Gómez,
February 4, 2002
- [Español]
FARC proposal to diminish the intensity of the conflict, February
2, 2002
- [Español]
Communiqué from Permanent Assembly of Civil Society for Peace,
January 24, 2002
January 29-February
2, 2002
The ELN
and Colombian government hold a round of meetings in Havana, Cuba. A
joint commission is established to draw up a timetable for talks.
- [Español]
ELN-government declaration, February 2, 2002
- [Español]
ELN declaration, January 30, 2002
January 20,
2002
Shortly
before the deadline for expiration of the guerrilla demilitarized zone,
the FARC and Colombian government agree to a timetable for cease-fire
discussions. The main issues to be discussed are cease-fire terms, kidnapping,
and paramilitarism. The document, drawn up with the presence of UN,
foreign embassy and church representatives, lays out a brisk schedule
that would bring a cease-fire by April 7. President Pastrana extends
the demilitarized zone until April 10.
- Text of "Accord
for a timetable for the future of the peace process," January 20,
2002 [English | Español]
- Speech by President
Andrés Pastrana, January 20, 2002 [Español]
- [Español]
Communiqué from Paz Colombia, January 20, 2002
January 14,
2002
 |
|
The
UN's James LeMoyne congratulates the FARC's Raúl Reyes.
|
In a late
afternoon announcement, after a day of efforts from UN, international,
and church representatives, the FARC announce that guarantees exist
for the peace process to continue, complying with President Pastrana's
demand. The January 20 deadline for the demilitarized zone's renewal
remains in place, Pastrana says, unless both sides can agree on a strict
timetable for cease-fire discussions. Future talks will include international
representatives in a more formal fashion.
- Communiqué
from international group of facilitating countries, January 14, 2002
[Español]
- Statement of
President Pastrana, January 14, 2002 [Español]
- Statement from
the civil-society peace group Paz Colombia, January 14, 2002 [Español]
- CIP
statement, January 14, 2002
January 13,
2002
The FARC
announce that they will hand over the demilitarized zone's town centers,
officially ending the three-year-old peace process.
January 12,
2002
After
two days of talks with UN representative James LeMoyne, the FARC releases
a proposal for re-starting the peace talks just before the Colombian
government's 9:30 PM deadline. The guerrillas' draft re-affirms the
commitments of the October 2001 "San Francisco
de la Sombra" accord, but leaves out the question of government
controls in the area surrounding the demilitarized zone. The FARC had
demanded that these measures be lifted in order for talks to continue.
To most observers, the statement tacitly acknowledges that the FARC
has yielded on the issue of the control measures -- though the guerrilla
proposal would create a commission to investigate complaints about the
measures.
At midnight,
President Pastrana rejects the guerrillas' proposal and orders the army
to re-take the zone at 9:30 PM on Monday, January 14. Pastrana offers
one last hope: that the guerrillas clearly state that the dialogues
may continue even with the control measures in place. The UN's Lemoyne
and FARC negotiators continued their meetings on January 13.
- FARC proposal
to re-start talks, January 12, 2002 [Español]
- Statement of
President Pastrana rejecting FARC offer, January 12, 2002 [Español]
- Statement of
UN representative James LeMoyne, January 12, 2002 [Español]
January 11,
2002
 UN
representative James LeMoyne arrives in the demilitarized zone in early
afternoon for last-ditch talks with the FARC. The two sides have until
9:30 PM on the 12th to find a solution that might save the peace process.
- Declaration
of UN representative James LeMoyne upon arrival in San Vicente del
Caguán, January 11, 2002 [Español]
- Letter from
Colombian non-governmental peace and human rights organizations, January
11, 2002 [Español]
- Letter from
activists and scholars, January 11, 2002 [English
| Español]
- Letter from
writers and other noted Colombians, January 11, 2002 [Español]
- Letter
from U.S. non-governmental organizations, January 11, 2002
January 10,
2002
 |
|
Colombian
Peace Commissioner Camilo Gómez consults with UN representative
James LeMoyne, January 10.
|
As troops
mass on the fringes of the demilitarized zone, President Pastrana grants
the United Nations time to find a solution to the stalled dialogues
with the FARC. If no agreement is reached, the 48-hour countdown for
the guerrillas' exit from the zone will begin the evening of Saturday,
January 12.
- Statement of
President Pastrana, January 10, 2002 [Español]
- FARC communiqué,
January 10, 2002 [Español]
- Statement of
UN representative James LeMoyne, January 10, 2002 [Español]
- Statement of
Colombian non-governmental peace organizations, January 10, 2002 [Español]
January 9,
2002
 |
|
President
Andrés Pastrana announces the talks' collapse on Colombian
TV January 9.
|
The Colombian
government announces the suspension of peace talks with the FARC. The
military is to enter the demilitarized zone 48 hours after President
Pastrana issues an order (which, as of the afternoon of January 10,
he has not done). The U.S. State Department blames the FARC for the
talks' collapse.
- Statement of
Colombian Government High Commissioner for Peace Camilo Gómez,
January 9, 2002 [English | Español]
- President Andrés
Pastrana's televised speech, January 9, 2002 [Español]
- FARC communiqué,
January 9, 2002 [Español]
- Remarks of Secretary
of State Colin Powell, January 10, 2002 [English
| Español]
January 8,
2002
A new
meeting between the FARC and Colombian government fails to make progress.
The FARC continues to cite government controls on the demilitarized
zone as the chief obstacle to progress in the talks and to the guerrillas'
compliance with the October 2001 "San Francisco
de la Sombra" accord. In a letter, FARC leader Manuel Marulanda
leaves the talks' future up to President Pastrana. He also proposes
a timetable, should the present difficulties be overcome: discussion
of a subsidy for the unemployed in February and March, and discussion
of a ceasefire in April and May. The FARC releases a series of open
letters to officials and sectors of society.
- FARC communiqué,
January 8, 2002 [Español]
- Letter from
Marulanda to Pastrana, January 6, 2002 [Español]
- FARC letter
to peasant organizations, January 8, 2002 [Español]
- FARC letter
to Colombian Congress, January 8, 2002 [Español]
- FARC letter
to Monsignor Alberto Giraldo, president of the Colombian Episcopal
Conference, January 8, 2002 [Español]
- FARC letter
to business groups, January 8, 2002 [Español]
- FARC letter
to United Nations representative James LeMoyne, January 8, 2002 [Español]
- FARC letter
to the armed forces, January 8, 2002 [Español]
- FARC letter
to the international "group of friends" of the peace process,
January 8, 2002 [Español]
- FARC letter
to Colombian teachers and students, January 8, 2002 [Español]
- FARC letter
to Victor Ricardo, Colombian ambassador to Great Britain and former
high commissioner for peace, January 8, 2002 [Español]
- FARC letter
to Colombian workers, January 8, 2002 [Español]
January 4,
2002
 No
progress is made after two days of talks between Colombian government
and FARC representatives. The FARC continues to insist that the government
lift the control measures it has implemented in the area surrounding
the group's demilitarized zone -- activities such as border controls
and air patrols that the guerrillas view as tantamount to a blockade.
Arguing that the control measures have brought a reduction in kidnappings,
the government -- particularly armed forces chief Gen. Fernando Tapias
-- has made clear its intention to keep them in place.
- FARC communiqué,
January 4, 2002 [Español]
- Government communiqué,
January 6, 2001 [Español]
Pre-1999
| 1999 | 2000
| 2001
|
