Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- List of Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction: Civilian Autonomy in Civil War
- 2 A Theory of Civilian Decision-Making in Civil War
- 3 The History of Conflict and Local Autonomy in Colombia
- 4 Living to Tell About It: Research in Conflict Settings
- 5 How Civilian Organizations Affect Civil War Violence
- 6 Why Some Communities Are More Organized than Others
- 7 The Institution of the ATCC: Protection through Conciliation
- 8 Discovering Civilian Autonomy in Cundinamarca
- 9 Civilian Autonomy around the World
- 10 Conclusions and Policy Implications
- Appendix A Archives Consulted
- Appendix B Supplementary Documentation on the ATCC
- Glossary
- References
- Index
7 - The Institution of the ATCC: Protection through Conciliation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 13 June 2017
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- List of Figures
- List of Tables
- Preface and Acknowledgments
- List of Abbreviations
- 1 Introduction: Civilian Autonomy in Civil War
- 2 A Theory of Civilian Decision-Making in Civil War
- 3 The History of Conflict and Local Autonomy in Colombia
- 4 Living to Tell About It: Research in Conflict Settings
- 5 How Civilian Organizations Affect Civil War Violence
- 6 Why Some Communities Are More Organized than Others
- 7 The Institution of the ATCC: Protection through Conciliation
- 8 Discovering Civilian Autonomy in Cundinamarca
- 9 Civilian Autonomy around the World
- 10 Conclusions and Policy Implications
- Appendix A Archives Consulted
- Appendix B Supplementary Documentation on the ATCC
- Glossary
- References
- Index
Summary
Thank God for the Association. If it weren't for the Association's mediation on my behalf, I'd be dead now. They're good people. Many accused owe their lives to the Association.
– Interviewee (ATCC#2), La India, Colombia, November 2007Late one February night in 1987, a small group of leaders from various village councils along the Carare River, in the heart of Colombia, met in secret. They were respected family men who had been in the region for some time and knew each other well. In the back room of a house, they discussed the pressing topic of how to respond to a threat of violence against the community, an ultimatum from multiple armed groups giving residents a choice to displace, join one of them in the conflict, or be killed. The community had already seen years of atrocities, and even their small gathering risked great danger – should anyone have seen them or passed word of their discussion on to any of the armed groups, they would have been killed.
They were caught between armies, but what were they to do? If they threw their lot in with the army or paramilitaries, the guerrillas would surely find out and kill them. And yet, if they joined the guerrillas in hopes of protection, the paramilitaries would have no mercy. “Well,” one man proposed, “we could find some weapons – take up arms and defend ourselves.” Others demurred, arguing that they were not soldiers, had no weapons, and would easily be crushed by the standing armies. “What's worse,” another said, “we would be no better than the armed groups, and then they would have every right to target us.”
To manage this problem of stigmatization, the discussion came around to a fifth option. From then on, they would manage their own affairs and would not take any part in the conflict among the armed groups. Unsure how the armed actors would respond, they sought them out in motor-canoes to declare they would neither leave nor take any sides. Surprisingly, after many months of discussions, the various armed groups acceded to the civilians’ policies. The result was the formation and survival of an organization called the Peasant Workers Association of the Carare River, or ATCC.
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- Information
- Resisting WarHow Communities Protect Themselves, pp. 183 - 218Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2017