Talk:Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia

HRW claims
HRW says: "Many children join up for food or physical protection, to escape domestic violence, or because of promises of money. Some are coerced to join at gunpoint, or join out of fear," which I quoted in the footnote. That means that always being forced to join is not neutral, some do join voluntarily (as much as that is possible of a minor). El_C 04:49, 3 March 2017 (UTC)


 * You're reading a quote from a report of that organization but you are not reading all the reports. You're putting the information in favor of a group that has done much damage to the children of Colombia.--181.137.2.23 (talk) 05:18, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
 * I don't think the HRW report is in favour of the FARC—I think that's your reading of it based on your own point of view. But the article should aim for neutrality. El_C 05:23, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
 * Irregular forces exploit children’s vulnerability. They mount recruitment drives that glamorize the warrior life. Children never want to join the war. Adults are the only ones responsible for violating the right to life and to a quiet life of children. There is no true neutrality in the article when you say that children want to join the war.--181.137.2.23 (talk) 05:35, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
 * I am not saying it—HRW is saying that some may have seen joining as better than the alternative. And I disagree that they are biased toward the FARC. El_C 05:41, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
 * Please don't modify your responses after you submit them(!). El_C 05:59, 3 March 2017 (UTC)


 * HRW says: From the beginning of their training, both guerrilla and paramilitary child recruits are taught to treat the other side’s fighters or sympathizers without mercy. Adults order children to kill, mutilate, and torture, conditioning them to the cruelest abuses. Not only do children face the same treatment should they fall into the hands of the enemy, many fear it from fellow fighters. Children who fail in their military duties or try to desert can face summary execution by comrades sometimes no older than themselves. Source: “YOU’LL LEARN NOT TO CRY” Child Combatants in Colombia --181.137.2.23 (talk) 05:11, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure why you bold that passage. What does that have to do with reasons to join being either mostly voluntary or coercive? The above dosen't mean there aren't multiple reasons to join. It dosen't mean "most" are forced to join, which is what your claim is. HRW cites multiple reasons to join, some voluntary, some coercive—what's "most" seems like conjecture. You are getting offtopic—try to stay focused on the single issue being disputed. El_C 05:18, 3 March 2017 (UTC)
 * The interpretation of the HRW report at the top of this section does not reflect Colombia's reality at all. I lived in Colombia for a year, and from having spoken with many Colombians about the war, I can confirm that it is extremely rare for *anyone* to just go join the FARC voluntarily. those child soldiers are predominantly kidnap victims. I lived for 3 months in one of the comunas in Medellin where there is a great deal of poverty, yet people from the lower classes (who FARC claims to fight for) universally view the FARC with total contempt. To offer my own anecdotal experience, when I asked "do you know anyone who decided to go join the FARC?" they said "no, absolutely nobody decides to just go join up with them, only with the paramilitaries. nobody joins the FARC unless they are kidnapped in their youth." and this is in Antioquia, where the countryside for many years was a stronghold of the FARC. that should tell you something. furthermore, the suggestion that child soldiers voluntarily join up in a civil war is outrageous. the original poster may be misinterpreting HRW, or HRW may just have it very wrong, which would be unsurprising. HRW often means well, but them, the UN, and foreign observers in general, have a very distorted and mistaken view of the civil war in Colombia. the FARC are not a genuinely ideological organization, they are really just kidnappers. all their lecturing about socialism and land inequality is basically political cover so that they can reap the benefits of negotiations such as this peace deal and all the earlier talks. HRW should be educated that the FARC are just kidnappers, Colombians don't buy their claims to have fought an ideological war -- which is one of the reasons why Colombians voted to reject this peace deal that treats the guerrilla as an ideological belligerent and grants political amnesty. unfortunately, the views of most Colombians are rarely acknowledged by HRW, amnesty international, or the international press who are really the most clueless. 73.226.130.77 (talk) 14:37, 21 September 2017 (UTC)

Typo: Guerilla -> Gorilla
Appears multiple times (100+), correct spelling is guerilla — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:700:2300:23:4888:8c5:a662:d30c (talk) 19:14, 9 April 2018 (UTC)

FARC-EP reorganizing?
Former FARC-EP commanders seem to be trying to reorganize after the peace deal failed. It is unclear at the moment whether this qualifies as a restoration of the original organization or a new organization under the same name (which would go in the page on FARC dissidents?), so I will be posting sources in this section until it becomes more clear where the information should go.


 * BBC: Colombia ex-Farc rebel Iván Márquez issues call to arms
 * Defense Post: Ex-FARC commander calls for Colombia rebels to take up arms

-Thespündragon 15:31, 29 August 2019 (UTC)


 * Some more:
 * Former Farc commanders say they are returning to war despite 2016 peace deal
 * "Más del 90 por ciento de los ex guerrilleros de las FARC siguen comprometidos con el proceso de paz" (Spanish: "More than 90% of FARC ex-guerrillas are still committed to the peace process")
 * --MarioGom (talk) 17:01, 29 August 2019 (UTC)
 * BBC: Colombia Farc rebels: President vows to hunt down new group --Thespündragon 18:28, 3 September 2019 (UTC)

Farc Attack on Milan
The 2012-2015 peace talks and end of the armed conflict section mentions a FARC attack on a coal railway in Milan in Southern Caquetá. The link for Milan is to the City in Italy and not the Colombian town. 216.6.241.0 (talk) 14:31, 23 October 2023 (UTC)