Fifteen years that the FARC-EP has made its voice heard to the peoples of the world.

Fifteen years that have made it possible for us to grow and have fourteen thousand five hundred copies floating in the consciousness of those who are concerned about Colombia. It is for that diverse group and to meet its continually growing demand for information that “Resistancia International” is now produced also in German, English, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and soon we will have it in French and Swedish as well.

We were the second Colombian communications media to enter virtual space. Since 1997 we have been visited by millions of people from all over the planet and, along with the other spaces for communication we have created, the FARC-EP has become a credible information resource in different latitudes.

Right from the beginning, “Resistencia International” represented an important challenge for our organization. Every issue became a learning experience for those who had the responsibility of putting it out. There have been celebrated achievements and mistakes to learn from in company with the ever-present solidarity of the friends who guided us to improve each issue, to enrich it and to get it in circulation.

From the beginning right up to the present, “Resistencia International” comes out every four months, thanks to the support we receive in the different countries where it is printed. As with all revolutionary tasks, conviction about its validity, effort and commitment are the fundamental ingredients that have enabled us to live and grow.

But, in addition to this, the successive issues of “Resistencia International” are the best reflection of what the FARC-EP’s position has been over these fifteen years. Re-reading them brings memories but also confirmations: memories at encountering fallen comrades or at seeing the youthful smiles of others who remain in combat, but also, confirmation of the integrity of our organization’s struggle to build a new Colombia.

Nine themes have been developed during this 15-year journey, all reflecting the views of the FARC-EP. This goes without saying once we see that analysis and proposals of a political, economic and social nature have appeared in 18.6% of our articles as a support for what is also the military character of our organization, a theme represented in 5.3% of the articles published.

And since “those of us in arms do not make war just for the sake of it, but because the circumstances oblige us to….But that cannot be the destiny of this Nation”, as our Commander Jacobo Arenas said, “Resistencia International” has devoted 23.4% of its articles to the theme of Peace, to the Negotiated Solution, to the different negotiation processes we have engaged in out of a commitment to our people.

But the war in Colombia is about more than our desire for Peace. Paramilitarism, created and strengthened by the state itself, drug trafficking, tied to the highest groupings of economic and political power and the consequent violation of the Human Rights of the civilian population is a constant in Colombian daily life. 23.6% of our articles have been dedicated to these themes.

To make known the History and profiles of the personalities who have contributed to it is to reveal as well the reasons for the struggle, the concerns and perspective for the future that we have as an organization. 10.9% of our articles have been dedicated to these themes.

The way we deal with the International theme warrants mention. As a revolutionary Marxist organization, the FARC-EP has never been indifferent to events taking place in other countries. It’s concern and attention to them is reflected in the fact that 8.0% of its articles have dealt with this theme and in many cases, have been enriched by opinion pieces of people who, while not from our organization, share our analysis. The latter have constituted 2.8% of the publication over the past fifteen years.

The process adopted, how we have dealt with and understood it, obliged us to incorporate new themes. And so, for the past …….issues a permanent section has been dedicated to Women, in other issues the theme of the indigenous peoples has been taken up, and in others it is the media that has been analyzed – 4% of the articles published.

Art, the poetry of the guerrilla camps, photography as a form of expression, the songs or mascots which accompany us, have always been present in “Resistencia International” with 4% of the articles.

This is how “Resistencia International” has arrived at its first fifteen years of life. We will continue coming to you, faithful to the saying of Simon Bolivar, “I will never sheath my sword until my country’s freedom is completely secured.”

Thank you for making the journey with us.

Translation on English by: elbarcino@laneta.apc.org