Mixed feelings related to the ruling issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in which it condemned the Colombian State for the extermination of the left-wing political movement known as the Patriotic Union. This is due to the fact that despite the joy generated by the decision, many direct or indirect victims of the violence generated between the 1980s and 1990s have relived those stories loaded with struggle, pain and fear.
DIARIO DEL HUILA, CLOSE UP
By: Johan Edward Rojas Lopez
Hugo Narces Peralta Solórzano, is the son of councilor Narces Peralta, assassinated on July 17, 1998 in Isnos due to his links with the Patriotic Union and activism. The political and community leader, he experienced firsthand the extermination of which more than 6,000 leaders and militants of the UP were victims.
He always stood out for being completely devoted to the cause, the same one that paved the way for him to death. His leadership was so ingrained that he did not even think about his well-being or that of the family, since he was always willing to give everything for the community. That strength to defend his ideals made him a leader, a consecrated leader, who later became a councilor and unfortunately crashed into death, leaving a deep void, but perhaps not as much as the example he set.
An example of life and struggle that her children remember today with pain, but with hope, since they, being victims of that conflict that plagued Colombia, finally consider that with this ruling the beginning of a dignifying process is given.
“Something I want to emphasize is that my mother lived in Neiva and he lived in Isnos because they had separated, but we were practically direct victims of that conflict because they displaced us, we went out into the street and they began to yell at us “communists and leftists we are going to kill you.” , we are going to end them bastards”, then due to that threat and psychological warfare we moved away from there”, narrated his son.
As Peralta Solorzano explained, his father was a leader in all the territories he set foot on, since they used to move constantly because his mother was a nurse. However, after the separation, his father settled in San José de Isnos, a place where his children came for several days and even months to share with him. But that harmonious and full sharing was always disturbed by various threats from the military and society itself.
He died and the war went on
The fear generated by the threats always reminded us of the days they shared, since the community and political leader always sent his children to Neiva promptly so that the war would not reach them.
“After his death it was a tough psychological warfare and he was just getting up on the road, because he is afraid because we have never been armed and we moved from there, we did not return. He always had the pressure and the psychological warfare always caught up with us because while he was alive, every so often the National Army would go and seize him, tie him up and take him away. In an accusation we were in the battalion with the communities complaining because they had taken him for a long time and due to pressure from the peasants they released him”, he added.
Under this logic, that war that they lived head-on and with cruelty was permanent, even until after their assassination. What’s more, according to his account, one of his brothers was caught at some point and was going to kill him simply for carrying the blood of the ‘old man’ as they call him affectionately, but fortunately and although it reads disgustingly chilling, they only managed to cut off his expensive.
Read also: Duality on the World Wetlands Day in Neiva
his murder
He also recounted that, “of course, all the members of the party’s UP were persecuted, assassinated, disappeared, and these were situations that generated fear, aggressiveness, and insecurity because we were always on the defensive just because we were the son of a political leader.”
Its extermination occurred crudely like all those that were carried out at that time. Five machete blows, two to the head and three to the back, caused his death. Initially he was wounded while waiting for some people with whom he would hold a dialogue about the creation of a cooperative; in that place, cowardly behind his back they impacted him and as a consequence he died.
This death was clearly a triumph for the Colombian State at that time, but for the family it was the worst blow since ‘the old man’ was the greatest example to follow, the home cane and the support to continue, even though he did not lived with them. There they began to miss the man who in private was affectionate, loving, a counselor and, of course, the guide of some young people who were barely understanding the context.
Genius and figure to the grave
“On one occasion when times got difficult when the threats increased, he always wanted to protect us and he sent us to my mother because everything was difficult. That is to say, that she was aware of what she could happen to her, but she never thought of withdrawing from her ideals, thought and being genuine, ”she said with a broken voice.
His children after his murder withdrew from all leadership scenarios out of fear, protection and respect for their mother, who suffered what is not written. Also, because the head that moved those ideals for the family group had died and fear drove us away, but now they have returned to retake the flag.
The beggining
“That decision of the Inter-American Court is not the end but the beginning because right now the party is going to gain strength and it is where we must be united the most. The economic figure is nothing because more than that is that the State recognizes that it did not exterminate animals, dogs, or criminals as they were seen and the right has always pointed it out. They have designated the victims of the UP as the worst scum in Colombia. Fortunately, along the way, we found people who gave us the fuel to continue with this cause and show us that we were not alone, we have had support, ”he explained.
Finally, today with tears in her eyes and almost without the strength to speak, she asks to remember her father as a great leader and person who has lost the department because of an extreme and abusive war. Also, to be recognized as a friendly, artistic human being, a lover of the countryside and always willing to serve. ‘La Cama Vacía’, his favorite song, is the hymn with which they honor his existence and exalt his struggle.