Foreign state threat
Select a foreign state (not the United States) and describe a threat to that nation.
1
FOREIGN STATE THREAT
September 5, 2020
Introduction
FARC is a Marxist-Leninist insurgency group known as The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. It was formed in 1964 by Manuel Marulanda and Jacob Arenas, with the objective of representing the interests of Colombias rural population after the civil war that took place between 1948 and 1958
. It was to operate by overthrowing the government in collaboration with the farmers and land workers, in the fight against the inequality that existed at that time. To fund its endeavors, the group engaged in drug trade, illegal gold mining, extortion, kidnapping and other crimes. The group avowed to be a revolutionary group in 1964. Since then, this guerilla group changed its objective to terrorizing the residents of this country, giving them peaceless days and nights. Members execute citizens, and fight to control the natural resources of the country, in addition to its massive drug trade activities. The major culprits of FARC are women and the youth in ethnic communities, who are either sexually abused or forced into child labor
. The group has been a headache to the government of Colombia. This is because they attack the police and their stations, as well as military posts, including carrying out ambushes on patrols. They are also a menace to the nations economy as they have destroyed oil pipelines, bridges, railway lines, electricity pylons,
including bombing social clubs
. Members of the group create FARC explosives, which they use for their illegal bombing activities. While aiming at their targets, they have sometimes missed and hit schools and public areas, killing and injuring scores of children and innocent civilians. Besides that, they also lay landmines that maimed thousands, leaving them totally dependent on their families and friends.
Colombias Insurgency Threat, FARC
FARC has about 7,000 active fighters, with another 8,500 citizens offering
its support to them. Their organizational strategy begins with small units at the bottom, which then join to make bigger fighting parts that are grouped into regional blocs. The countrys military is a major enemy of the group, as it attempts to disarm and demobilize it. In 2016, the group made a peace deal with the government of Colombia, where it was officially disarmed and demobilized. Following this event, it changed into a political party, with the new name Revolutionary Alternative Common Force
. Even so, it still keeps its acronym FARC, and though it has legitimately turned into a political party, some of its ex-guerrilla adherents refuse to disband, and are still into drug trafficking and militant actions which they carry out under the FARC name.
FARC is a state threat because it controls the livelihood of the people of Colombia for the purpose of engaging in drug trade
. The group imposes its own rules and threatens the lives of those civilians who dare oppose them. Those who do not comply are subjected to punishments that range from fines to forced labor and murder. Women and children are sexually abused and children taken for recruitment, actions that leave the people of Colombia in fear.
FARC has no respect for the government or human rights. When it comes to opposing the government, the group will plan attacks against the nations security forces. A community that observes the only sources of their own security gets threatened and ripped off its authority is left feeling
defenseless and helpless.
When it comes to human rights, this guerilla group is that it does not care about the survival of society. According to ICRC, one-way FARC fights the government is by attacking health workers
. By conducting violence against these professionals, it hinders their efforts to reach the sick people in the regions
controlled by the insurgent groups. This means that most of them are left weak, while others die. In so doing, it takes away their power to protect themselves by denying them their human rights. It also renders the countrys political ability useless by making them appear helpless in defending its own citizens, let alone bring down a rebellious group.
FARC works by exercising social control. They set rules that do not make sense, but must be followed anyway. For example, PARE
mentions how they demand that riders and their passengers should not wear helmets so that they can be able to see their faces at a glance
. They also impose curfews on the residents. This means that they are not allowed to roam outside between a set periods of time. In the event that they are caught, they are killed or subjected to severe punishments. The group also determines fishing activities in their areas. They control how much fishermen can indulge and when to stop. This means that their economic status is controlled by the group, and that they can only help themselves as much.
Bars have a set time for closing. After that, no socializing is expected as people must follow curfew rules. In addition to that, they also control debt and how people should pay. There are times when they impose debts on people, and then demand that they pay because they own that much to them. Terms and conditions are determined by the group and all debt payers are expected to comply or face the consequences.
FARC commits unlawful murders in Colombia. After the 2016 peace deal with the government, killings have increased and the group does not choose between civilians or their human rights activists. Homicides in the countrys affected areas have grown over the years. The country does not have actual statistics of how many people have died this way, but they do note that many are victims. Many of these people are killed because they went against the groups rules. Women, on the other hand, are exploited sexually, and when their purpose ceases, they also get killed.
How Colombia has responded to the threat: The government of Colombia has tried challenging FARC. In 2016, it tried to make peace with the insurgents, in the hope that this move would result in peaceful results. However, this did not last as some of the group members were not satisfied and wanted to remain insurgents. The country has also deployed the military to seize power from the group. They are placed in the areas where the groups like to attack. The struggle continues as the insurgents have frequently bombed their camps, including attacking patrolling officers
. Though
security is vamped in the cities, it is lacking in the countryside, where it is needed the most. This is because their services are mostly centered on protecting infrastructure and oil pipelines among others, which leaves the people unprotected. The other challenge is that those officers assigned to protect the people are the guerrilla, and as such, security is not guaranteed
. The government also works with human rights activists and community leaders. These individuals try to educate the locals on their rights and the need to defend them, though their efforts bear no fruits.
Bibliography
BBC News. Who are the Farc? November 24, 2016.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36605769
CISAC. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. July 2019. https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/revolutionary-armed-forces-colombia-farc
HRW. V. Guerrilla Violations Of International Humanitarian Law. n.d. https://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/reports98/colombia/Colom989-05.htm
ICRC. Health care under threat in Colombia. March 3, 2020. https://www.icrc.org/en/document/health-care-under-threat-colombia
PARE. The Guerrillas Are The Police. January 22, 2020. https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/01/22/guerrillas-are-police/social-control-and-abuses-armed-groups-colombias-arauca
UN. Increased Attacks against Community Leaders, Human Rights Defenders Pose Gravest Threat to Colombia Peace Process, Special Representative Warns Security Council. July 14, 2020. https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/sc14252.doc.htm
Comments
Ill-defined or weak introductions. Remember, an introduction tells your audience what you will
explore (what topics) and what your thesis is.
A little choppy on the transitions between paragraphs. You want to add a sentence at the end of
each paragraph that leads your reader into the next topic smoothly.
Argument needs to tie in your thesis throughout.
CISAC. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. July 2019. https://cisac.fsi.stanford.edu/mappingmilitants/profiles/revolutionary-armed-forces-colombia-farc
UN. Increased Attacks against Community Leaders, Human Rights Defenders Pose Gravest Threat to Colombia
Peace Process, Special Representative Warns Security Council. July 14, 2020. https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/sc14252.doc.htm
BBC News Who are the Farc? November 24, 2016. HYPERLINK “https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36605769” https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-36605769
HRW. V. Guerrilla Violations Of International Humanitarian Law. n.d.
HRW. V. Guerrilla Violations Of International Humanitarian Law
ICRC. Health care under threat in Colombia. March 3, 2020. https://www.icrc.org/en/document/health-care-under-threat-colombia
PARE. The Guerrillas Are The Police. January 22, 2020. https://www.hrw.org/report/2020/01/22/guerrillas-are-police/social-control-and-abuses-armed-groups-colombias-arauca
PARE. The Guerrillas Are The Police. January 22, 2020. #
Ibid#
Citation goes OUTSIDE of punctuation. Ensure to fix, moving forward.
Most of this needs to be in the body of the paper, not the introduction.
Ensure to have a very concise introduction. Is the FARC a threat to Colombia today? What topics
will you address? Purpose of paper?
Good detail but you need to cite ALL statistics. If you borrowed it, then you must cite it.
So, do they still threaten the state?
Ensure to provide specifics on such statements and then cite them.
Proofread
Again, ensure to add examples and cite.
Who is PARE?
So what kind of economic losses are sustained because of FARCs rules?
You have not discussed this in the body of the paper.
Do not introduce new ideas or topics in a conclusion.
A conclusion is a summation of all the main points/argument within the paper – not the time to
discuss new topics.
