Chapter Four Uribe’s “Peace” Policies: Perpetuating Violence by Disguising the Colombian Conflict Maurizio Tinnirello University of Kent at Canterbury, UK Colombia’s problems are so complex that they make the Balkans look simple…If shooting people could solve the prob- lems of Colombia, then Colombia would have become heav- en on Earth long ago. 1 There can be no doubt that the violence in Colombia has increased in recent years due to the use of violent methods that had initially been set in place to address what has become a national quagmire. As a result of the current strong-armed policies aimed at the guerrillas, se- curity seems to have improved, at least in the urban areas, where the large middle class and elites live, whilst the historically abandoned rural areas remain unstable, as guerrillas and other armed actors continue to control large parts of the country in their macabre dance of death (ICG 2005: 22). Nevertheless, this perception of ‘tranquillity’ is not entirely due, to the deployment of the army and its pressure on the guerrillas (TNI 2004: 4). In- stead, it is significantly linked with the process of demobilizing the para- militaries (paras) (ICG 2004: 7), which the government has been selling to the general public as the Ley de Justicia y Paz (Justice and Peace Law- LJP) 2 . The Auto Defensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC- United Self De- 1 Ruiz, B. (2001: 77). 2 This law is seen by a great many people and international organisations as a carte blanche for the legitimisation of Narco-structures controlled by the paramilitaries. Indeed it is argued that there has been very little ‘peace and justice’. An editorial in the New York Times suggested it should be called “Impunity for Mass Murderers, Terrorists and Major Cocaine Traffickers Law”. New York Times, July 4, 2005. One set back for the govern- ment but a step forward for justice has been the pronunciation of the constitutional court that has deemed unconstitutional many of this law’s articles. For the Ley de Justicia Y Paz see: Office of the High Commisioner for Peace, www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co, http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co/justicia_paz/documentos/Ley1_975.pdf. For the constitutional court sentence see: http://www.altocomisionadoparalapaz.gov.co/ justicia_paz/documentos/ley_justicia_paz.pdf © University of Deusto - ISBN 978-84-9830-779-5