23 September 2010 | Interviews | Human rights
“War is a Business”
Real World Radio interviewed Colombian journalist Alfredo Molano
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Journalist and writer Alfredo Molano knows the situation about the armed conflict in the Colombian forest like few others. He has written many books about this issue and travelled many times to the deep Colombian forest. Molano talked to Real World Radio about the situation in his country with reference to Juan Manuel Santos´ administration, the role of the media and the role of peoples´ organizations.
“War is a business. Military officers have high salaries and are able to manage the political power”, said Molano. But he said that despite this, the Colombian government does not succeed in the “struggle against the guerrilla”.
“One thing is what happens in the battlefields and another is what the media reports. We only have access to official statements, we have no way to know what has really happened. The statements of the guerrilla are not known, so there is a strong lack of balance”, he said.
The journalist also said that the advertising campaigns by the Army are “very well executed” and he suspects these receive help from foreign countries. In terms of Santos´ administration, he said that the situation of “democratic security” will be the same, but he warned about the problems the president and a sector of military officers will face.
