April 6, 2015
Below find the presentations from the event on “Peace from the Regions” (Paz Territorial) on March 27, 2015 at the United States Institute of Peace:
Panelists included:
Virginia M. Bouvier (Read presentation here in English)
Senior Advisor for Latin America Programs, United States Institute of Peace
Andrés Santamaría Garrido (View power point presentation in Spanish here.)
President, National Federation of Ombudspeople (Personeros)
Marino Córdoba (View power point presentation in Spanish here.)
Afro-Colombian Peace Council (CNPA) and Association of Displaced Afro-Colombians (AFRODES)
Diego Bautista
Adviser for Territorial Peace and Post-Conflict Institutional Architecture
Office of the High Commissioner for Peace.
COLOMBIA CALLS 
Hi Ginny,
I just read at the News Round Up of the William J. Perry Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies of the National Defense University that Colombia has resumed the bombings against the FARC in retaliation for ten soldiers killed.What you know about the topic do you have additional information to share with us?Best regards,Richard
War & Conflict
Colombia to resume bombing of FARC targets
Ten soldiers killed by rebels in early morning ambush described by President Santos as a “rupture” of FARC’s ceasefire.
16 Apr 2015 10:42 GMT | War & Conflict, Latin America, Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, FARC
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Hi Richard—Have been racing to meet numerous deadlines today and things in Colombia are unfolding rather quickly. In the meantime, a few comments. Since the parties agreed to continue the war during the peace talks, this kind of attack is almost inevitable sooner or later during the process; and violence always seems to spike when the stakes get raised. Certainly the transitional justice discussions and the military reform proposals under consideration in the COlombian Congress are touching on many interests and fears. The FARC has maintained a voluntary unilateral ceasefire (not part of any joint agreement) and has always maintained its right to engage in defensive actions. The Colombian military has suspended bombing of FARC camps, but still engages in bellicose activities. What is not yet clear is whether this was a defensive action as suggested by FARC leaders, and the FARC has called for an independent verification mission of the Frente Amplio por la Paz and other internationals including the ICRC to determine the facts of the case. This seems to be a prudent, reasonable course of action. Clearly, the political pressures on Santos to respond quickly were inordinately high, but it might have made more sense to suspend judgement until all the facts are in. Keep in mind that in peace processes, there are always spoilers on both sides with the capacity to wreak havoc on the process. Cauca is a particularly complex environment and has been a site of particularly intensive combat in recent weeks. Once the details are sorted out, rationale responses can be generated. Some analysts are saying that there will be no impact on the peace process, and this may well be the case, but the renewal of the bombing will create new dynamics that are difficult to reverse. Just a few thoughts for now… Ginny
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