Library:Letter to Laura
Personal Letter to Laura | |
|---|---|
 Manuel Pérez, author. | |
| Written by | Manuel Pérez |
| Written in | 1993 |
| Source | Memoirs - Manuel Pérez Martínez |
Letter to Laura
1993
January 19, 1993.
My dear Laura:
Receive our embrace and the affection of all of us, at the beginning of these new hopes and the celebration of our 30th anniversary, firm in our convictions. We begin with renewed spirits and great hopes for significant progress in the struggle. Everyone is generally well, except for a few cases, such as Francisco, who was transferred to a military facility. A high-security prison wasn't enough for them... because they are cowards and are afraid of an unarmed man, but one with firm and unwavering ideals. They don't care about violating all the laws and the rights of people to a fair trial. Military barracks are not prisons.
However, we are all steadfast and focused on seeking new advances. We are greatly encouraged by hearing such important news as the emergence of the EZLN in Mexico. We don't know much about it, but it excites us. Hopefully! If you know anything, please send us some information so we can be better informed. I'm taking this opportunity to tell you that I received the book and the current affairs magazines you sent me. Your dear sister María's article about Cuba is very good; my congratulations.
We are hopefully watching for signs of a reversal of this neoliberal avalanche, economic liberalism, and all the ideology about the death of socialism and the ideals of a new society.
We don't want to harbor false hopes, but we do want to live intensely with new signs of unity and struggle among the poor, given the lack of solutions to the problems of the exploited of the world due to imperialist and capitalist arrogance. We want to contribute our small part in these moments of renewal and new hopes. I want you and all our friends there to receive our very special embrace, with the assurance that we will make every effort not to fail you and to live up to the commitment that is required at this time. Indeed, our Extraordinary Congress (or National Meeting) was held last year despite the large-scale military operations launched to prevent it, under a special plan called "Destroyer." The documents containing the conclusions are now being released, and we hope you will receive them. Our family has been strengthened again in its internal unity by this new political consensus. The leadership has been expanded.
Our tactical slogan is "Confronting the comprehensive war launched by the government with People's Power." Despite the difficult times, we have experienced significant growth of 35 percent.
Our areas of focus will be:
1. Regaining the initiative of the masses.
2. Continuing the construction of local People's Power.
3. Advancing in the recovery, consolidation, and expansion of territories.
4. Building a solid economic base for the war.
5. Improving and increasing the confrontation.
6. Ideological confrontation, fostering the values of the New Colombia.
7. Maintaining a willingness to dialogue and negotiate.
8. Contributing to overcoming corruption and drug trafficking.
9. Strengthening the International Front.
10. Consolidating the vanguard character of the Simón Bolívar Guerrilla Coordinating Committee.
We are working to ensure that political prisoners are taken into account, and that their conscience and firmness are maintained and strengthened. Our greatest concern is that the mass movement is weak and intimidated by all the dirty war unleashed.
In addition, the VII Conference or Summit of the C.G.S.B. has just been held, in which the unity objectives were reaffirmed. All difficulties were addressed in order to find solutions, and prospects for progress were explored as far as possibilities allow, with a very realistic and practical approach.
A booklet containing the moral and political norms of the Coordinating Committee emerged from this meeting, and is being distributed to all combatants to be studied with the population. A new chapter is opening with the arrival of more than 25 American advisors, who have come to "cooperate" with extensive equipment, under the already worn-out title of "humanitarian aid," supposedly to build a school and a hospital in Juanchaco, near Bahía Málaga. They are building bases in the eastern plains, Bahía Málaga, and they also plan to do so in Magangué, in the center of the country. All of this is public knowledge. Gaviria is determined to maintain the lie of the humanitarian issue, and there is no moral force of autonomy and sovereignty capable of transforming this into a struggle for dignity. There are some sectors that have begun to denounce all of this, but without sufficient force.
You also know that this year there are four election days for all kinds of positions imaginable. This is to continue perpetuating this pseudo-democracy, where, logically, abstention will triumph, but the mask of a democracy stained with blood by the fiercest dirty war will be the grotesque mask shown to the world. I hope you are doing well, and I want to express my sincere gratitude for everything you send us, which helps us stay up-to-date.
A big hug,
Manuel.