Q&A: Colombia cut ties with Israel to be on the 'right side of history'

Since Israel began its onslaught in Gaza after October 7, several Global South nations have led the way in denouncing the aggression against Palestinians.

In Latin America, Colombia's President Gustavo Petro has taken a regional lead, cutting ties with "genocidal" Israel and backing South Africa's complaint at the International Court of Justice against Israel in the Hague for allegedly breaking the Genocide Convention.

This year, Alejandro Toro, a Colombian Congressman, has raised his voice, insisting, "We are witnessing a genocide live and direct, but indifference seems to reign over indignation".

The House of Representatives member since 2022 and part of "the Historic Pact for Colombia'', a political and electoral coalition composed of different political parties and social movements, recently attended the 5th Inter-Parliamentary Al Quds Platform Conference in the city of Istanbul to seek a solution to the onslaught in Gaza.

Since his return, Toro, who represents the department of Antioquia, spoke exclusively with Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) in Spanish - recounting his journey and why he publicly stands in solidarity with Palestine.

TRT: Please touch upon your life and career. Our audience would be interested to know where you grew up, what you studied, and your interest in politics.

Alejandro Toro: I grew up in the neighbourhoods of Medellín, guided by my father, who was a street vendor. That's how I began to interact with everyday people. I studied educational pedagogy at the Luis Amigo University Foundation.

Later, I got involved in social issues at the foundation Funuvida, where I was director, which would later be called the Avanti Foundation. From there, I began to relate more to all political and societal issues in Colombia.

This is how I came to social movements, working with the foundation to strengthen the peace process and the non-repetition (end) of the armed conflict; afterwards the historic pact of Congress of the Republic (coalition between different political parties and social movements) was reached. I am currently studying business administration.

Please can you explain your relationship with the Palestinian cause? How old were you when you learned about what happens daily in Gaza and the occupied West Bank?

AT: Ever since I was very little, I liked to read a great deal and I began to be passionate about the political and geopolitical realm and understanding how the great global powers are shaped. I consider myself a traveller, and from thereon in I learnt about other cultures and social processes which has made it easier for me.

In your opinion article, I saw that you wrote,"We are witnessing a genocide live and direct, but indifference seems to reign over indignation." How do you analyse the current situation, and has it had any impact personally and professionally?

AT: The current situation is extremely complex; I am not saying that it is unusual because, in the last 30-40 years of history, we have also seen genocide in Rwanda or Bosnia-Herzegovina. But, what makes the current situation so complex and harrowing is that it is a genocide televised 24/7 via social media and the news media.

We are close to a point of no return in the sense that if we, as humanity, do not act to stop the horrors in Palestine, we are making it clear that indifference has won.

The impact on a personal level is immense. Each new piece of news brings more pain than the previous one. Professionally, it has led me to want to participate in spaces such as the League of Parliamentarians for Al Quds and use the public platform I hold as a congressman to raise my voice in favour of the Palestinian people.

A couple of months ago, I spoke with some Colombian analysts regarding President Gustavo Petro's and the Colombian people's solidarity. One expert mentioned that in Colombia and in the region, some identify with the Palestinian cause due a shared history of colonialism. How do you view that dynamic and what can you underscore for an international regarding it?

AT: The Colombian armed conflict cannot be understood outside the logic of colonialism because, in recent decades, it has been financed by illicit transnational businesses such as drug trafficking and illegal mining and by capital from large foreign businesses in the case of paramilitarism (paramilitary presence).

What does this mean? We know what it is like to be displaced from the land where one belongs to by people who consider that they have the ownership right because they are more powerful. That is why, as a country, we can and must show solidarity with Palestine, because we have also been victims of those who believe they have the power to eliminate the other without anyone opposing them.

Can you explain Colombia's decision to break diplomatic relations with the State Of Israel and whether you believe other countries in the region will do the same?

AT: The decision to break relations with Israel entails being on the right side of history. In the face of barbarism, one must be on the side of life, regardless of economic issues or maintaining (diplomatic) manners. That is what President Petro made clear: that internationally, he cannot proclaim a message of peace and defence of life and not assume a clear position repudiating what Israel does in Palestine. Let us hope that the regional countries see Colombia's decision as a push to reach the same assessment.

How did the possibility of participating in The League of Parliamentarians for Al Quds emerge? Please can you tell me about how it happened, the significance for you to come to Türkiye and to represent Colombia?

AT: I was invited to the League of Arab Parliamentarians for Al Quds by Sergio Gaona, a member of the Andean Parliament for Chile. The Andean Parliament is a supranational parliament comprising five countries in the region I am part of. Parliamentarian Gaona - also close to the Palestinian cause, (and) aiming to have representation from Colombia invited me to this important event.

Going to Türkiye representing Colombia is an opportunity which I feel extremely honoured about; it is a recognition of my political battle to preserve life, and it gave me the possibility to share the message of solidarity from the Colombian people with the Palestinian people

I saw that some important figures, such as Zwelivelile Mandela, Nelson Mandela's grandson, have participated and that in the meetings, you explored how to confront ethnic cleansing. What else can you comment about what took place, the importance of the occasion, taking into account that some have harshly criticised much of the Western world for its support of Israel? This solidarity seems to be very different.

AT: The importance of the Conference of the League of Arab Parliamentarians for Al Quds is indisputable because it is held at a time when immediate and decisive action is needed. It was an occasion for parliamentarians from all corners of the world to define what actions we should take to influence the great economic and political powers in such a way as to achieve an end to the genocide.

It is curious when certain sectors come out to support Israel because they have to do all kinds of rhetorical juggling to justify what is being done. While support for Palestine is a clear call for respect for human life, (in contrast) support for Israel seeks a way to defend the indefensible.

After participating in the Munich Security Conference, President Petro profoundly referred to the situation in the Middle East: "If decisions are made by brute force, as in Gaza, we will fall into global barbarism, and Palestine will not be the final solution but the beginning." How do you analyse the geopolitical implications from the Middle East to the Americas?

AT: The implications of what is happening in Palestine are key because, if we fail to stop the barbarism, it would make it clear that the world system created to avoid the horrors of World War II from being repeated failed.

This means that all countries in the Global South would be exposed to the risk of a superpower wanting to invade us and destroy our territory without there being an entity to stop the violence.

What is the main risk? The norm in international relations again becomes the return to war and not diplomacy, with the compounding factor that there would be wars where anything goes, where the idea of International Humanitarian Law loses any meaning.

Anything else to highlight that we haven't touched on.

AT: As humankind we cannot allow a people to be lost with its inhabitants, its stories, its language (and) its traditions due to stigmatisation, due to a narrative in which Palestinian existence is inherently a terrorist act, when the vast majority of the Palestinian people are civilians who wish to live in peace, under normal conditions, with their own territory that is the right of all peoples.