Colombian leaders voice divisions at party congress

Colombia's present and last presidents made a public display of their differences on 28 October, alternately defending and attacking the latest round of peace talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Both justified their records and aspirations for Colombia as they addressed supporters in the conservative Partido de la U, gathered in Bogotá to elect new party directors. The former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez reiterated his criticisms of incipient peace talks and said the government seemed more interested in talking to "terrorism" than assuring Colombia's security. Uribe, who sought to defeat the FARC when president in 2002-10, told party members "the last two years have made many Colombians think that the Government has shown greater interest in talking to terrorism than in security," and alleged any strikes against FARC commanders under his successor Juan Manuel Santos seemed "more the fruit of of the Armed Forces' resolve" than government determination. He deplored that the government should seek to build "trust with terrorism" or they should now be deemed a warring party when "many countries" and "most Colombians" considered them terrorists, EFE reported. Santos was Uribe's defence minister in 2006-9, but the two have drifted apart for Uribe's opposition to a compromise with the FARC. Members of the Partido Social de la Unidad Nacional - the Unity or U party - have thus faced a dilemna in the discord between their leading personalities. Santos later defended talks as a continuation of Uribe's own policies. He said the previous government tried "the impossible" to talk to the FARC, chose possible locations for such conversations and asked Brazil to act as garantor. There were letters he said, setting out preconditions including an end to terrorism, the broadcaster RTVE reported on 29 October. He said "they were negotiating for five years and now they say, how are we talking to terrorism?" while "members of the previous government forget" he was pursuing its policies. He declared he had not come with "rancour" or "resentment," but to "build the future and talk about the future." He observed that professional political parties with discipline, debate and "internal democracy" were a key part of the democratization process. "I do not believe, let me be clear, in made-to-measure parties that become shorter or longer" to fit the needs of a "caudillo or the one currently in charge," RCN radio reported.