FARC Communiqué in Regards to the Liberation of Clara and Consuelo

January 10 of 2008

1. Honoring our word and commitment, today the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FARC, hand over Clara Rojas and Consuelo González de Perdomo to the President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, to Senator Piedad Cordova and the international community. If the boy Emmanuel is not in the arms of his mother, it is because President Uribe Vélez has sequestered him in Bogotá. Let him free so that we can all celebrate this event.

2. This humanitarian and unilateral liberation is possible despite the hindrance presented by President Uribe himself, a sworn enemy of the exchange of prisoners and enemy of peace with social justice, as he follows the ideological guidelines of Washington. Raising above the intense military operations of the Patriotic Plan, the seizure of the proofs of life, the capture of the humanitarian messengers who carried them, the sequestering of little Emmanuel in Bogotá, and the absurd intention to exclude the international humanitarian commission from the facilitation, we have taken this first encouraging step that invites to think about the possibility of peace in Colombia.

3. The efforts must now be directed at obtaining the military clearing of Pradera and Florida as the stage for the dialogue government-FARC for the agreement and the materialization of the exchange to make possible the liberation of all the prisoners in control of the contending forces, of those captives in the mountain and the imprisoned guerrillas in the jails of the regime, including Sonia and Simón. Our will is unquestionable. Let's not forget that in the recent past we unilaterally released 304 military and police officers, captured in combat. The handover of Clara and Consuelo we carry out today reaffirms our disposition.

4. The fact is that we are a belligerent force awaiting recognition by the governments of the world. This step would smooth the winding path of the Colombia people in their search for peace. Ours is a legitimate struggle. It is upheld by the universal right that all the peoples of the world have to raise against oppression. Our father, the Liberator Simón Bolivar teaches us that, when power is oppressive, virtue has the right to overwhelm it, and that the virtuous man rises against the oppressive and unbearable authority to replace it with a kind and respected one. And this is, indeed, the FARC's endeavor.

5. President Chávez, thank you very much. The world does not doubt that your immense heart beats sincerely for the peace of Colombia and the redemption of the peoples. We also thank the governments and personalities of the world who have surrounded him without reservations in this noble effort. And our special thanks to the brave people of Venezuela for their support and brotherhood. To the relatives of the prisoners and the friends of the humanitarian exchange our call to persist. We will obtain the exchange.

Secretariat, Central High Command of the FARC

Mountains of Colombia, January 10 of 2008

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Students for a Democratic Society held their Third National Convention this summer in College Park, Maryland. The event drew over 120 students from across the country. At the top of the agenda was the need to pass and implement a national structure. In the past three years SDS has grown into one of the largest student and youth organizations in the U.S., with over one hundred chapters. Most focus their activity against the U.S. war in Iraq. For example last March over 90 SDS chapters and endorsing student groups participated in a SDS-initiated week of action against the U.S. occupation of Iraq. This became the largest coordinated student antiwar protest since the Vietnam War.

This year's SDS Convention saw unprecedented unity around the need for a workable structure. Cheers erupted as the main proposal was passed during a plenary. This decision will help SDS step on the scene in the U.S. as a major force of the anti-war and radical movements. The proposal calls for a National Working Committee made up of representatives from each region, working group, and caucuses representing oppressed groups. It marks a huge step forward.

Students also discussed proposals such as supporting the upcoming September 1st March on the RNC, including a united student contingent. Another campaign proposal to “Protest McCain!” seeks to build a movement amongst college and high school students who oppose the U.S. war and occupation in Iraq and understand that McCain is committed to “another 100 years” in Iraq.

Chapin Gray from the University of Alabama SDS said, “This year's convention highlighted the positive changes SDS is making. After three years of working hard on our campuses, we're ready to take the next step – putting together a national organization. A student movement that connects students and young people with the movements against war, and for peace, against racism and for full equality, against poverty and oppression, standing up for economic justice and liberation!” Chapin Gray and other leaders of her SDS group from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, plan to take what they learned back to their campus. “Our experiences in local organizing teach us the importance of coming together on a national level and having a structure in place that can help us make a huge impact both locally and nationally.”

According to many participants, the convention highlighted the advances that SDS is making. Freddy Bastone, a student at Hunter College in NYC, commented, “I think when you look at the difference between last year and today you can see, politically and methodologically, that there have been leaps and bounds in consciousness, and increased practical understanding of class and oppression as it relates to nationality. We are seeing more emerging discussion of class, nationality, and oppression.”

Finally, SDSers had difficulty agreeing on a plan for action in the coming year, but one proposal proved highly popular. The campaign proposal adopted by the 2008 convention is called “Student Power for Accessible Education”. The ultimate goal of this campaign is to have free and accessible higher education, which SDSers hope to achieve by fighting tuition increases on campuses and addressing issues like student debt and fees. SDSers from dozens of chapters are already building this campaign.

Overall, the third national SDS convention was a resounding success, moving both SDS and the student movement forward. The challenge of the coming school year will be to use the newly-adopted national structure to build a powerful national student movement that moves tens of thousands to take action against the Iraq war and support the struggles for peace, justice, and equality.

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