海角大神

On a vacant grassy lot squeezed between several smoggy highways lies the property where Colombia鈥檚 government hopes to build a large museum paying homage to victims of the country鈥檚 long civil conflict.

But for now, the terrain occupied only by a rusted cubic metal sculpture is a reminder of how polarized this South American nation remains.

In recent weeks, the future of the Museum of Memory has become a public feud because of the director overseeing it.

Appointee Dar铆o Acevedo, a history professor, is a conservative who, critics say, has expressed views that could excuse the state of much of its responsibility for the violence.

Mr. Acevedo has rejected a draft plan for the museum鈥檚 content and has questioned the number of victims of the five-decade war. In response, some victim groups vow not to work with the historical center.

鈥淲hat鈥檚 at stake is potentially losing the opportunity for the museum to be another instrument through which to build peace in Colombia,鈥� said Rafael Tamayo, an academic who until recently served as the museum鈥檚 leader.

The idea of a Museum of Memory dates to a 2011 law that vowed to make symbolic reparations to the estimated 8.6 million victims by creating a space of documentation and reflection.

The conflict has dominated a half-century of Colombian life. Marxist guerrillas formed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in the mid-1960s to overthrow the government, redistribute land, and erase economic inequality. The war evolved into battle between guerrillas, the state, and paramilitary groups, complicated by the rise of the multi-billion-dollar cocaine trade. In decades of bombings, kidnappings, and assassinations, millions were forcibly displaced and an estimated 260,000 left dead.

鈥淔or a nation struggling to recover from historical conflict and trauma, it is vital to create a narrative that resonates with public memory,鈥� said Jennifer Hansen-Glucklich, who wrote a book examining the challenges faced by Holocaust museums. 鈥淏ut it can be a very tricky thing to do because of the question of consensus.鈥�

Colombia鈥檚 murky war

Colombia鈥檚 conflict is especially difficult terrain, partly because it lacks a clear start and end. Though some 10,500 former guerrillas are now living as civilians, deadly skirmishes between remnant armed groups in the countryside persist.

Who should go down in history as a demon and who as a savior is a matter of fierce debate.

Were Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia rebels fighting for the poor or were they primarily a drug trafficking organization? Did former President 脕lvaro Uribe help Colombia move toward peace by pushing rebels to the verge of extinction 鈥� or the one who started new conflict by inciting paramilitary violence against any who challenged powerful landlords?

Many say all those descriptions are true at the same time.

鈥淚n Colombia the line between hero and villain is not clear,鈥� writer Santiago Villa noted in a recent El Espectador newspaper column.

The debate has coincided with street protests against inequality, corruption, and what critics perceive as President Iv谩n Duque鈥檚 lackluster implementation of a 2016 peace deal with the main rebel group.

Some protesters turned their attention to Mr. Acevedo, portraying him as a henchman for the ruling conservative political party intent on masking the state鈥檚 role in crimes committed during the conflict.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a thief,鈥� said Carlos Oviedo, who held a sign railing against Mr. Acevedo at a protest outside a government building where events honoring victims are often held. 鈥淎 thief of our historical memory.鈥�

A controversial appointment

When Mr. Acevedo was appointed in February to lead the National Center for Historical Memory, 89 victims鈥� organizations urged Mr. Duque to reconsider. Several threatened to remove archival material they contributed from the center鈥檚 vaults. Even Mr. Acevedo鈥檚 history professor colleagues objected.

鈥淲e are surprised that you, who openly denies the existence of an armed conflict, has accepted directing a state entity whose central purpose is to recognize it,鈥� the history staff at the National University of Colombia wrote in a letter.

Mr. Acevedo has said the conflict was less a formal struggle against rebels with a cause than an effort to stamp out criminal and terrorist bands.

Seated in his office overlooking a park, Mr. Acevedo insisted his personal viewpoints have not obstructed his role to ensure all victims are represented. He said he is working on projects involving relatives of those killed by soldiers and paramilitaries.

鈥淭he museum shouldn鈥檛 be of the right, or the left, or the center,鈥� he said.

However, feuds with his staff began with a traveling exhibit meant to test a museum narrative developed over five years by experts who had met victims throughout Colombia.

Mr. Acevedo said he thought the narrative focused too heavily on social inequality as a cause of the conflict.

鈥淲e can鈥檛, in the name of the state 鈥� because it is a state museum 鈥� impose a perception of the conflict,鈥� he said.

Important intricacies

Some, like former museum chief Mr. Tamayo, fear his version will lose the conflict鈥檚 many complexities.

鈥淚t鈥檚 simplifying the conflict as a guerrilla group trying to take power,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a version of good versus bad, but it doesn鈥檛 reflect the intricacies.鈥�

Critics were alarmed when Mr. Acevedo objected to having the traveling exhibit include art depicting members of a leftist political party whose members were gunned down because it also included two prominent rebel leaders.

Mr. Acevedo has also questioned a widely accepted calculation of the conflict鈥檚 human toll.

Victim groups have watched in distress, with at least one formally refusing to renew a cooperation agreement.

One troubled group is the Mothers of Soacha, relatives of poor men killed by the military and falsely identified as guerrillas to boost reported body counts.

Though Mr. Acevedo has helped with a book on their experiences, some relatives were alarmed by his questioning of whether those deaths 鈥� estimated at about 5,000 鈥� amounted to a state policy or were the actions of delinquent military officers.

鈥淗e needs to represent history as it is,鈥� said Ana Paez, whose son was a victim.

Mr. Acevedo insists the museum will move forward, but Mr. Tamayo wonders if it can open without agreement on a narrative explaining the violence.

鈥淭he great challenge is to show that history and memory are not exactly the same,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that memory is built together.鈥�