The so-called ‘total peace’ law, recently ratified by Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, to initiate negotiation agreements with some armed groups is considered by several retired Army generals as one more resource for «impunity», in contrast Sergeant Major Luis Orlando Lenis, who serves as president of a military foundation, maintains that «the ‘total peace’ is simply one more resource for impunity» since it would open the possibility that guerrillas such as Luciano Marín Arango, alias ‘Iván Marquez’, could be pardoned.
«All those who have committed crimes in this country have the possibility of accessing and being free», insisted Lenis, consulted by RCN radio station. «The ‘total peace’ without justice will never be achieved (…) what do we want, to continue pardoning criminals (…) or to look to the future with dignity», he asked.
In line with Sergeant Lenis, retired soldier Carlos Julio Rodríguez said he was part of the military group that is concerned that this new Law 418 – its original name – promoted by the new government will serve to violate the rights of victims «as happened,» he said, with the 2016 peace agreements with the now defunct FARC guerrillas.
«All peace processes are welcome as long as they are made with both parties», said Rodriguez, who has assured that these peace processes are full of «corruption». Thus, he also pointed out that ‘Iván Márquez’ and «the wrongly named FARC dissidents» should not be part of these agreements because they were already part of a peace process that they later renounced.
In spite of these statements, the Colombian government has clarified on several occasions that these eventual negotiations are aimed at political armed groups, such as the National Liberation Army (ELN), but not at the FARC dissidences of which the aforementioned ‘Iván Marquez’ is a member.
In the case of FARC dissidents and other armed groups such as paramilitary squads, the government maintains that although it is not closed to possible rapprochements, they will have to be subject to ordinary justice.
