ENTERVIEW WITH COMMANDER PABLO, FROM THE COCE
- How do you see the country’s situation after the Police Academy in Bogota?
Our Colombia follows the course of a war that the state has declared against all insurgent social and political movements searching for change. The act in the General Santander school was a legitimate action against the armed forces and the military establishment where the genocidal plans of the country are trained, formed, and conducted.
- What would you say to de militancy of the ELN if the Venezuela’s situation turns more difficult?
Our objectives are the same with or without an invasion. We have fought, lived, and resisted for 55 years. As an organization an invasion doesn’t change our plan to take power through political or military means if there’s no path of dialogue available and the bourgeoisie doesn’t give in to there war-mongering pretenses.
- What do you think about de mediatic strategy that Duque has used to call you ‘leaders-killers’?
Nothing is more dangerous than a deceitful president. Duque is going to be the star man of lies. If president Uribe and Juan Manuel Santos were the star men of false positives, this president has no other option in the face of his incapacity to offer results for the country with regards to economic and security policies, than to blame those than are not responsible. We, as the ELN, a revolutionary organization, fight for the people and social leaders are part of this exploited and oppressed people. We defend the right to social leadership and therefore have nothing to do with the death of social leaders. We want to clarify to the country and the world that we defend social activists and that we have never acted and never will act against social leaders.
- How do you see the continental situation, specially in Venezuela?
Anything can be expected from the North-American empire, and even more so with such an sick person as is Trump. Its as clear to the whole world as the light of day that if there’s an invasion Colombia is going to be worst affected. Between the United States with Trump at its head, president Uribe who wants this invasion and the puppet that is Duque, they are bringing the Colombo-Venezuelan people to war. Nothing will happen to these big cats, the problem will be for the people. They have fortified the border of Puerto Carreño to Auraca, Cucuta and Maicao, where most of the long-distance artillery has been concentrated is in Tame, Arauca and Cucuta. The Colombian army will be the first to attack the Venezuelan people if there’s an invasion, and this must be clear for the Colombian people so they can understand the abyss towards which a liar like Duque is taking us.
- Does the ELN still want to pursue the route of dialogue?
The state takes advantage of our sincerity to twist our good intentions of peace which we haven’t broken up to this date. Our delegation is in Cuba waiting for the Government to decide whether they want to dialogue or at least stick to the established protocols, which weren’t made with the president but with the state. They have the obligation to either offer guarantees or return to dialogue. We have told the country and the world that we are in favor of dialogues to negotiate, not to give in and surrender. We are an alternative political force in Colombia, recognized by the world. If we only listen to what the bourgeoisie, the empire and the states with fascist regimes such as that of Duque-Uribe have to say, because the presidency is directed by Uribe not Duque, they twist everything. They don’t want real peace in Colombia so they blame the ELN that has proved with concrete acts and with many unilateral humanitarian gestures and the state still opposes offering space for these humanitarian agreements. We, the ELN, still want to pursue the route of dialogue.
- Which is the message for the people who bealived in the dialogues?
The state knows that the ELN fights for a real form of peace but they want a peace that involves submission and we don’t walk that path. And the Colombian people and the peace movements must know this, we will not surrender, because dialogue is to negotiate and we have proposed negotiation. This is where the state won’t budge, they want us to disarm and give in and then see what they will do with us, as they are doing with the demobilized sectors of the FARC.
We send a brotherly hug to the people of Colombia from behalf of the ELN central command. To those fighting for peace, we invite them to continue this fight for transformation, we recognize all the effort they have been making to keep this peace project going and to end the suffering and repression affecting the Colombian people.
February 2019
