Use Kidnapping And Other Terrorist Like Tactics example essay topic

In Columbia there are five main purveyors of violence, the FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia, People's Army), the ELN (Army of National Liberation), the AUC (United Farmer Self Defense Group), the Columbian National Army, and the Narco Mafias. The FARC-EP is perhaps the most dominant, and violent of all the groups. The FARC-EP controls a zone roughly the size of Switzerland in the Southern part of Columbia. The FARC-EP considers the zone to be "A laboratory of peace (1)", while many, consider it to be a "zone of fear (2)". The FARC-EP kidnapped over 700 people in their zone in 2000 (2), these people, for the most part are the people that the FARC-EP is supposedly fighting to free. The ELN is also involved in many kidnappings and civilian killings, not to mention drug trafficking.

The AUC, which was originally formed to combat guerilla movements, has almost became a guerilla movement in and of itself, .".. the government calculates the AUC now kills more civilians than the main guerrilla army it was founded to combat (3)". The AUC works hand in hand with the Columbian National Army, something for which the Columbian National Army has come under fire for in recent months. The Narco Mafias, though they are extreme perpetrators of many violent episodes in Colombia, lack a political agenda, and are only concerned with the production and transport of narcotics. Can any of these violent groups be considered as terrorists? According to the FBI, terrorism is "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives (4)". According to that definition, the FARC-EP, the ELN, and the AUC can all be considered terrorist movements because of their use of violence to further their political agendas.

The Columbian National Army cannot be considered a terrorist group because it is a state institution, and a Government cannot terrorize itself. Since the Narco trafficking groups have no political agenda, they too are not considered terrorists as per the FBI definition. In chapter 8 of White's text on Latin America, White goes into great detail about the Tupamaro's tactics in Uruguay (4). The Tupamaros were a revolutionary group that appeared in the early sixties and tried to overtake the government through guerilla warfare and acts of terrorism. White does not necessarily jump out and say that the Tupamaros are a terrorist group; he considers them to be a group of guerilla warriors who commit terrorist acts. The Tupamaros committed acts of, as White puts it, urban terrorism.

The Tupamaros routinely bombed strategic government targets, robbed banks, and kidnapped people. Not only did robbing banks and kidnapping provide the Tupamaros with monetary support, it also helped them further express their political agenda. I think that White would classify the FARC-EP, the AUC, and the ELN much the same way that he classifies the Tupamaros, as groups of revolutionary guerilla warriors that commit terrorist acts, the FARC-EP and the ELN especially because they very often use kidnapping and other terrorist like tactics. The AUC on the other hand is a little more of a blurry subject because their purpose is to put a stop to the FARC-EP and the ELN, but the tactics they use are just as violent and guerilla-like as the groups they are trying to stop. Many of their tactics are considered to be acts of terrorism, such as their large amount of civilian killings. Using the FBI definition, I take White's classification one-step further.

As White classifies these groups as guerilla warriors who commit terrorist acts, I say that any group that commits terrorist acts, no matter how frequent or infrequent, is a terrorist group. Revisiting the FBI definition, terrorism is "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives (4)". By killing innocent civilians, kidnapping, and robbing banks I would consider the FARC-EP, the ALN, the AUC, and even the Tupamaros to be terrorist groups. The tactics used by these guerilla revolutionaries exemplify every part of the FBI's definition of terrorism. The number of kidnappings by these terrorist groups has reached alarming proportions in recent years; an estimated 2000 people are kidnapped every year (5).

Between January and August of 2000, over 147 people were killed or died while in captivity (5). If these groups weren't terrorist groups, they would not be kidnapping and killing their own people. So, in conclusion, using the basic principles of White's text, and the FBI's current definition of terrorism, not all of the perpetrators of violence in Colombia can be considered terrorist, only the FARC-EP, the ALN, and the AUC.

Bibliography

1) The Demilitarized Zone, A Laboratory of Peace. (2001, March-April.
Retrieved February 18, 2002, from web (2) Vivanco, Jose Miguel (2001).
Colombia's Zone of Fear. Retrieved February 18, 2002, from web (3) Wilson, Scott (2001).
Colombia's Other Army. The Washington Post. (2001, March 12.
Retrieved February 18, 2002 from web report 3.
htm (4) White, Jonathan R. (2002).
Terrorism: An Introduction, third edition. United States: Wadsworth / Thomson Learning. (5) Colombia, Amnesty International Condemns Death of Another ELN Hostage. (2000) Retrieved February 18, 2002 from web.