Making the Colombia Peace Talks Public

Via Adam Isacson, here are all the documents associated with the negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC. One point he makes is how reasonable the proposals seem to be. In the document on drugs, for example, there is careful discussion of rural development, voluntary crop substitution, technical support, protection of the environment, a focus on public health, judicial reform, and the like. It's ambitious, yes, but a tremendous step forward.

In fact, showing that fact is really the main reason they decided to go public with what are obviously very sensitive and fluid proposals. Here's the public statement:

Sin embargo, persisten todo tipo de especulaciones sobre lo acordado. Especulaciones que son producto unas veces del desconocimiento de los comunicados y los informes, y otras de una intención clara de desinformar a la opinión pública.

Quick and dirty translation:

However, all kinds of speculation persist about the agreements. This speculation is sometimes the product of a lack of knowledge about the communications and reports, and sometimes from a clear intention to mislead public opinion.

The point is to counter criticism, especially from Alvaro Uribe. He fired back yesterday, saying the plans somehow were giving in to terrorism and that they were intentionally complex so that they would never be fulfilled. He'll never be satisfied, of course, but now everyone can take their own look and come to their own conclusions. He'll be fighting a more uphill rhetorical battle as a result.