To update our post about the backstory of the Colombia Peace Process, the Colombian electorate narrowly voted down the signed peace accord. Now the parties have to return either to negotiation or war.
The rejection highlighted the tension between four principles that John Paul Lederach discussed in his “Journey Toward Peacemaking.” In Psalm 85:10 Truth and Mercy are described as coming together, and Justice and Peace embrace (various English translations use different terms, but these are the basic meanings of the Hebrew words and are translated as such in Spanish). Lederach describes how Truth, Mercy, Justice, and Peace are all needed in reconciliation, though every process tends to highlight or prioritize these in different ways. The Colombian public evidently felt that Justice was overlooked in the process and that Mercy was too extensive and cheap.
In my peacemaking work we often use an exercise Lederach developed to allow these varying voices to be raised related to the specific conflicts people face in the context of our workshop setting. It is good to be aware of these voices and competing needs in the process of healing and finding the way to a genuine and deep peace.
When a peace agreement is signed as was recently done in Colombia between the government and the FARC rebels there is another story in the background that is seldom told. This BBC report gives us a look at that backstory, especially the work of a Norwegian diplomat who mediated and the Cuban government which hosted the talks.
Having been through these processes, let me note a few interesting things along the way. One is that the war continued and at times even intensified–that should be expected by peacemakers who provide the encouragement and glue to keep going through the resultant anger and bitterness. Second is the role of something outside the negotiation process that can bind people together in an unexpected way, in this case watching a soccer game between Colombia and Venezuela together, bringing them all in support of the same team. Third is that the peacemakers end up staying in the background, letting the political leaders stay in the foreground and be celebrated as they sign the pact.
The Norwegian Who Helped Broker Peace
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