Colombia’s rebels stuck with war names

It will be a major psychological break with the past

Let’s say Colombian voters oblige President Juan Manuel Santos and approve his peace deal with the FARC. It would pave the way, among other things, for the leftist rebel group’s makeover as a legal political party after it disarms. And because the deal assures it at least 10 seats in Congress, the FARC supreme commander could in the near future be known as Senator Timolen “Timochenko” Jimnez.

Or would he be Senator Rodrigo Londoo? After all, that’s his real name, even if he hasn’t used it in decades.

Dropping their aliases in favour of assuming their civilian names will be more than a mere formality for thousands of battlehardened FARC guerrillas, many of whom joined the rebel group — formally known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — as teenagers.

They haven’t been addressed by the names their parents gave them in years, let alone seen their parents. It will be a major psychological break with the past.

Pseudonyms serve a different purpose for regimented, armed organisations such as the FARC. They signify a clear rupture with the past and the birth of a new identity — one that is almost entirely subsumed into the needs, goals and commands of the group’s leaders.

This is one reason that so many FARC members, especially those in leadership roles, seem almost allergic to reporters’ queries about their plans for a return to civilian life if Colombians vote October 2 to approve the peace accord. They seem truly perplexed by questions about what sort of lives they will have outside the structure of the organisation.