Bill Delahunt: “Mr. Speaker, as others have alluded to, almost 4 years ago, President Andres Pastrana embarked on what was truly a…”

“Mr. Speaker, as others have alluded to, almost 4 years ago, President Andres Pastrana embarked on what was truly a courageous effort to bring peace to his nation. He began negotiations with the FARC and the ELN, the country's two main guerilla groups. He did so because he realized that, after almost 40 years of conflict, a negotiated agreement was the only answer to end the violence. These efforts focused world attention on Colombia. For the first time, the international community was brought directly into the negotiations. Hope prevailed that the brutal violence that has plagued that nation for decades would at long last end. I shared that hope. At President Pastrana's request, I myself went to the so-called demilitarized zone. I met with the FARC, which is the largest party to this conflict. I left, hopeful that the FARC was genuinely serious about the search for peace. They claimed that they were prepared to work to create a new Colombia that would embrace social and economic justice and bring peace to a population exhausted by violence. Sadly, they have proven they were not serious.”