MEDIA REACTION - CHILEAN EDITORIAL ON DEMISE OF FARC LEADER

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000489 SIPDIS STATE FOR IIP/G/WHA, INR/R/MR, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA STATE FOR INL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SNAR KCRM KPAO PINR KMDR PTER CO CI SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION - CHILEAN EDITORIAL ON DEMISE OF FARC LEADER MARULANDA ¶1. On May 27, conservative, independent "La Tercera," (circ. 129,000) carried an editorial entitled "Marulanda's Death: A Chance for Peace." Quotes: ¶2. "The FARC originated almost half a century ago in the context of the Cold War and the civil war that tore apart Colombia from 1948 to ¶1958. The guerrilla group was founded with political and social roots that are unrelated to what the majority of Colombians are experiencing today as part of a healthy democratic society.... The death of Manuel Marulanda represents a window of opportunity.... There is consensus that Marulanda was the unifying element in the FARC's war against the government of Colombia... and that in his absence it is more likely that the current policy of regaining territory from the FARC will be more successful.... There is also a chance for the FARC's new leadership to move toward peace and begin a new era in its ties with the government, end the fighting, release hostages, and for thousands of guerrilla fighters to eventually rejoin society...." ¶3. "But Marulanda's death should also serve to show the extent to which the FARC has abandoned any attempt to bring about social change... and has instead become an organization that relies on kidnapping, extortion, and the protection of narcotics trafficking as its main sources of income." URBAN