The Intellectuals' Letter
Santa Fe de Bogota, November 20, 1992 Seriores Coordinadora Guerrillera Sim6n Bolivar: As a group of convinced democrats who oppose violence and authoritarian solutions of all kinds, we have...
...In the current circumstances, we oppose the means you use to carry on your struggle...
...It is time for a deep and patriotic reflection, and a radical rectification of years of mistakes...
...On the contrary, your actions have created a climate of political and ideological confusion which is converting Colombia into a battle camp in which the most common form of free expression is that made through the barrel of a gun...
...Daniel Samper, journalist...
...The untold and useless deaths on both sides, as well as the systematic attacks against the national wealth and the ecological disasters that you have caused are a price too high for a country that has already paid too much...
...Corruption, which you also rejected in the past, has contaminated your own ranks through your dealings with drug traffickers...
...Gonzalo Sanchez, historian (plus another 50 signatures...
...Armed struggle, instead of leading to greater social justice, has engendered all kinds of extremisms, such as the resurgence of reactionary violence, paramilitary forces, merciless crime and excesses committed by the armed forces, which we condemn with equal energy...
...Salomon Kalmanovitz, economist...
...Santa Fe de Bogota, November 20, 1992 Seriores Coordinadora Guerrillera Sim6n Bolivar: As a group of convinced democrats who oppose violence and authoritarian solutions of all kinds, we have the moral right to question the legitimacy and the effectiveness of the actions that you have pursued now for many years...
...Your war, understandable in its origins, now goes against the grain of history...
...Today your standard tactics include kidnapping, coercion and forced contributions, all of which are an abominable violation of human rights...
...How is it that you ignore the traffickers' reactionary nature as well as their contribution to the breakdown of our communities and society...
...Terrorism, which you had always condemned as an illegitimate form of revolutionary struggle, is today a daily recourse...
...Luis Alberto Restrepo, philosopher...
...Colombia deserves better...
...We don't believe that you represent the popular will...
...Your war, gentlemen, lost its historical significance long ago...
...Such a situation cannot lead to a common dream of a democratic and joyous society...
...Antonio Caballero, journalist...
...Apolinar Diaz Callejas, lawyer...
...Eduardo Pizarro, sociologist...
...Recognizing this fact in good faith will also be a political victory...
...Fernando Botero, painter...
...Alvaro Camacho, sociologist...
...Gabriel Garcia Mirquez, writer, Nicolas Buenaventura, historian...
...It is time to search for a new and innovative form of politics more in tune with the realities of today's world...
Vol. 27 • January 1994 • No. 4
