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An article from Cronica del Quindio (translation by CPNN)

In Armenia, Quindio, the Observatory for the City, Peace, Coexistence and Citizen Culture has been created so that organizations, associations and foundations, public and private entities, as well as members of civil society and victims of armed conflict can contribute to the construction of the peace of the municipality.

It is a program of the mayor of Armenia with 4 lines of work: the promotion of actions and culture of peace, historical memory, human rights, and conflict management. In addition to the lines mentioned, the program willl contribute to the production of knowledge, the investigation and characterization of the victims of the armed conflict in Armenia, as well as the articulation with policies at the national level for the construction of peace.

The Observatory for the City, Peace, Coexistence and Citizen Culture of Armenia began with the issuance of Decree 181 of July 12, 2022, which provides for its formation. “As of this moment, it begins to meet in order to establish the strategic lines for the research and development of peace in Armenia.

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What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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The objective of the Observatory for Peace and Human Rights is to strengthen research and knowledge management for the production, use and approval of official information on peace processes and citizen culture, linking the participation of related actors and sectors. in the municipality of Armenia, Quindío”, explained Andrés Ocampo, manager of peace, human rights and civic culture of Armenia.

The 18 members of the Observatory will meet in bimonthly sessions. The members include secretaries of Armenia, delegates of the municipal table of victims, delegates of the Ombudsman’s Office and the Municipal Ombudsman, representative of human rights organizations, representative of institutions of higher education, delegate of the youth table, among other actors, to determine the strategic lines of impact on issues of peace and reconciliation.

Likewise, they will provide inputs for public policies, alliances, databases and information that allow the construction of peace and the recognition of the victims of the armed conflict. In the same way, they will realize projects of the national policy Total Peace, an event to recognize peace builders and the realization of a work route created by all the members of the Peace and Human Rights Observatory of Armenia . “We plan to obtain resources to show how many victims of the armed conflict Armenia currently houses. In addition, we seek to articulate with the national government for the implementation and adoption of national policies,” said Andrés Ocampo.

He also emphasized the importance that the victims of the armed conflict, post-conflict actors and civil society know that in Armenia there is a peace observatory that is a pioneer at the national level. “We are the second city with a Peace, Coexistence and Citizen Culture Observatory in a municipal administration. We need everyone to know of the support of the mayor José Manuel Ríos Morales for this entire peace process. Victims will receive guarantees and attention from all his work team, cabinet and offices of the city.

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An article from Caracol

Achieving peace has been for years the great dream of nations around the world, a collective utopia that includes the wisdom of the ancestors and the hope of the new generations. Winners of the Nobel Peace Prize such as the Dalai Lama, David Beasley of the World Food Program, and even the former president of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos, have stated in their speeches that there are multiple paths to achieve peace: with access to food for all, with nonviolent actions that generate changes, with the disarmament of illegal groups, and a large number of etceteras that trace an imaginary path of peace and freedom.

With great or little rigor, some countries have been working on it. Some Colombian cities such as Cúcuta, historically affected by armed conflict, are undertaking strategies that benefit collectives, entrepreneurs, diverse population groups, provide individual services such as attention to the victims of the conflict. This leads to mass events such as the Nights of Peace that for the second consecutive year is planned for all the city’s neighborhoods during the month of December.

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What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

Can festivals help create peace at the community level?

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“Recognizing the historical memory of our municipality and understanding the social context in which the different communes live, we decided to continue this year with the strategy called Peaceful Nights. It consists of visiting the neighborhoods of Cúcuta and adjoining rural area for 17 days, with different entertainments including theatrical presentation, puppet shows, musical acts and, of course, the prayer of the Novenas of Bonus. All these are framed under the message of the culture of peace and the promotion of the values of respect, forgiveness and reconciliation”, says Elisa Montoya, secretary of Post-Conflict and Culture of Peace of the Mayor’s Office of Cúcuta.

This year, the strategy began on December 1 and is already on day number 5, in which more than 1,200 people have participated, including children and adults. Juan Santos Omaña, coordinator of the initiative explains that: “So far we have visited neighborhoods that have historically had to face situations of armed conflict; We have reached places like Ciudad Rodeo, Motilones, Simón Bolívar, San Martín and Cuberos Niño, and the acceptance has been surprising. Every day there are more than 250 people who live with us the Nights of Peace”.

In the coming days, this strategy of the Municipal Mayor’s Office will reach the neighborhoods: Nuevo Horizonte, Aeropuerto, Guaimaral, El Bosque, Santa Clara, Pizarro, Manuela Beltrán, Santander, García Herreros, Prados del Este, El Llano, La Conquista and al corregimiento of Banco de Arena. Those interested in participating in this free event can learn about the daily schedule through the social networks of the Secretariat for Post-Conflict and Culture of Peace, which can be found as @secposconflictocucuta on Instagram and Facebook.

(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article.)

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An article from Unidad para las victimas (translation by CPNN)

With 45 graduates including university students, social leaders and victims of the armed conflict, the diploma “Transitional Justice: a contribution to the construction of territorial peace” culminated in Florencia (Caquetá). The course started last July for which ten accredited national and international organizations contributed their knowledge and experience.

The diploma was constituted in a commitment to inter-institutional articulation between the System of Attention and Comprehensive Reparation for Victims (SNARIV), the Comprehensive System for Peace (SIPAZ), the Peace Office and the legal office of the University of the Amazon ( UDLA), together with the German international cooperation organization (GIZ).

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What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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The participants learned basic knowledge about transitional justice, with a focus on Caquetá, where, in addition to understanding the processes of care and reparation for victims, land restitution, truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-repetition, they acquired tools in the fields of human rights and international humanitarian law,.

Valentina Almario, future lawyer and leader of women victims of abuse, highlighted the issue of the implementation of the gender approach in transitional justice contexts, as well as the territorial mechanisms for the implementation of the public policy for victims.

“To this must be added the importance of understanding the need for truth as a public good, to contribute to the construction of a culture of territorial peace in Colombia,” she said.

The student José Luis Tinoco Rivera said in this regard that he was particularly struck by the contrast made between the negotiation processes based on DDR -Demobilization, Disarmament, Reinsertion- of the last century, compared to the negotiation processes of this century, which are part of the logic of transitional justice.

The course took place over five months and 160 hours, including face-to-face classes, practical exercises, and homework.

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An article by Lorena Baires in Dialogo Americas (translation by CPNN)

The National Assembly of Nicaragua has approved a list of reforms to the Creative Law of the National Cinematheque and to the Law of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts, to limit the “development, public exhibition and commercialization of cinematographic and audiovisual products, as well as the confiscation of these”. With them, lawyers and filmmakers warn, the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo will control and censor audiovisual productions in the country.

Carlos Guadamuz, defense attorney for the Costa Rica-based NGO Human Rights Collective Nicaragua Nunca Más told Dialogo, “We are concerned about all the attributions of the National Cinematheque, because it places culture and the production of audiovisual material as an initiative of the State and not as an initiative of an individual or legal entity to promote thought. It is a Law that violates the Political Constitution and places freedom of expression and thought at serious risk and vulnerability; as well as the patrimony of all the people who wish to carry out activities in the field of filming and documentation”.

As of October 13, Nicaraguan cinematography will have supervision and control with an article that establishes that “any natural or legal person, national or foreign, who intends to develop audiovisual and cinematographic activities of any kind in the national territory, must comply with the registration requirements before the National Cinematheque and have the proper authorization for the execution of such activities”. The Cinematheque may issue insurance measures to guarantee that nationals or foreigners comply with the regulations “in the making and development of cinematographic or audiovisual products,” reported the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa.

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Click here for the Spanish original of this article.

Can “culture of peace” be mis-used?

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Ricardo Zambrano, Nicaraguan filmmaker, director and producer in exile, told Diálogo; “This is what is worrying because, in a context like Nicaragua’s, where it is already known that one cannot publish things against the regime because there are consequences, now there is is a law that not only prevents and prohibits the display of the works, but also their production,” “The filmmakers will not be able to make documentaries or films that criticize the regime. If any person, producer, tiktoker or youtuber tells their stories with a camera in the street in a way that the Cinematheque, considers is not contributing to the peace and well-being of Nicaragua, their production will be boycotted and the material confiscated”.

The Nunca Más Nicaragua Collective emphasizes that these reforms bind and force the development of film or audiovisual activities and the production of documentaries on Nicaraguan television channel 6; a state television station that only reproduces the signal of television channel 4, the main broadcaster of the propaganda system of the Ortega-Murillo regime.

The lawyer Guadamuz added, “We are concerned that these records are carried out before authorities where the processes or guarantees of due process are not fulfilled, and there is no possibility of filing complaints or using judicial instances to ensure compliance with the freedoms and human rights of Nicaraguans” .

Nicaraguan sociologist and documentalist Leonor Zúñiga also highlighted the regime’s strategy of using ambiguous concepts, such as “Culture of Peace”, to justify actions against the freedoms of Nicaraguans.

“This concept has already been used in other post-2018 rebellion laws, to justify the censorship of everything that represents a criticism of power, and therefore threatens ‘peace’,'” Zúñiga posted on Twitter. “With this, they not only control producers that require the support of the State. This authorization to the Cinematheque can prohibit any individual with a camera (Yes, TikToker) to produce something if it does not align with the ‘Culture of Peace.’

Independent Nicaraguan filmmakers shared a press release on social networks, where they call on audiovisual producers and creators in Latin America and the world to “reflect on the importance of defending creative freedom and acting collectively to guarantee that the rights of freedom of expression are respected.” expression and cultural creation that have cost so much to conquer in Nicaragua and Central America”.

The National Cinematheque is in charge of the ex-daughter-in-law of Ortega and Rosario Murillo, Idania Castillo, who would become the new inspector not only of audiovisual products in Nicaragua but also of those who are dedicated to this activity, warned La Prensa

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An article from Prensa Latina

Resuming talks between the Colombian Government and the guerillas National Liberation Army (ELN) in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday (Nov 22) , demonstrated willingness to move towards peace.

(l-r) Silvana Guerrero, Aureliano Carbonell, Pablo Beltrán, Carlos Martínez and Danilo Rueda participate in the peace talks between the Colombian government and the ELN today at the Humboldt Hotel in the Waraira Repano (Avila) national park in Caracas. | Photo: EFE/ Rayner

Despite the differences that may exist, the negotiators expressed in a joint declaration their disposition, optimism, certainty, and hope to resume talks, with a political and ethical will, that have been frustrated over the years,

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What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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High Commissioner for Peace Danilo Rueda expressed certainty in achieving a satisfactory conclusion “with all the differences we may have” because we have found in the delegation a kind attitude and the compliance this time to reach peace.

The head of the ELN delegation, Pablo Beltrán, stated that the Colombians “cannot see each other as enemies,” the work we have done is reconciliation, finding common points again, and building a nation in peace and equity.

Historical Pact Senator Iván Cepeda underlined his faith and hope that the changes of the Government peace delegation are true, as we have started in a few hours to “experience tuning” with the ELN peace delegation

Cuba, Norway, and Venezuela, the guarantor countries of the peace talks, have seen the process, that began on Monday, with hope. The Colombian Government and the ELN signed for this process in Caracas on October 4 and expressed gratitude for the trust placed in them.