"We will undoubtedly make history, not only me, but all the people of this generation, of this moment in Colombia; all of you - soldiers and generals - will make history if we build peace. It's a moment in History."
This was stated on Saturday by President Gustavo Petro during the presentation and allegiance ceremony of the troops and the new military commanders, which was held at the General José María Córdova Cadet Military School.
“Today, it would not make sense to be President of Colombia if we don’t try to obtain the fundamental pillars of peace that will become definitive in the future. That's the idea of being President right now,” the president highlighted.
In the same sense, he highlighted that Colombian society does not deserve to be condemned to war.
“Condemning Colombia to war and violence is not worth a medal or being mentioned in history books or by future generations, because a society or a country does not deserve that,” he highlighted, adding that change means getting out of that perpetual violence in which Colombia has lived by building peace.
The President in the same way stated that in order to build peace, an alliance between the soldier and the peasantry is necessary in that deep Colombia.
“Since when [the fact of] building peace here became a conflict between soldiers and peasants? That cannot continue to exist,” said the President, who in the same context said: “If we are not able to build a great peasant-military alliance, a great alliance conducted by the state and the peasantry, we will not be able to build a nation.”
He added: "What peace achieves is the union between the military Forces and their people, which is what we have to achieve, because it has been broken in many parts of the country, due to lack of trust. We have to rebuild.”
Based on this, the Head of State proposed that the son of a peasant should have the possibility of becoming a general of the Republic.
“Why don't we give ourselves the possibility that, in an army of peace, every general was a soldier and, therefore, that every soldier can, by his merits, become a general?” he said.
Finally, the President proposed that members of the Military Forces, since they enter the different branches, have the possibility of being trained and accessing higher education to strengthen their dignity inside and outside the ranks.
Source: Presidency of the Republic
