Colombia's FARC political party accuses far right of attacks on members

Record ID: 1413536

  • Title: Colombia's FARC political party accuses far right of attacks on members
  • Date: 15th May 2019
  • Summary: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (MAY 15, 2019) (REUTERS) MEMBERS OF THE POLITICAL PARTY FORMED BY COLOMBIA'S FORMER MARXIST FARC REBELS SITTING AROUND A TABLE DURING MEETING FARC PARTY PRESIDENT RODRIGO LONDONO HOLDING PAPERS DURING MEETING VARIOUS OF MEETING LONDONO GETTING UP GENERAL OF NEWS CONFERENCE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FARC SENATOR PABLO CATATUMBO, SAYING: "The president of the Republic must get rid of his autism and explain to the Colombians why all of this is happening. Who is behind all of this and we won't hesitate to point the finger at right-wing and paramilitary sectors closely linked to state security agencies, who are behind these murders. Wilson's (Jorge Enrique Corredor, better known by his old FARC name - Wilson Saavedra) murder is a typical dirty war murder."
  • Embargoed: 29th May 2019 19:00
  • Keywords: FARC Londono Jorge Enrique Corredor Colombia Santos
  • Location: BOGOTA AND UNIDENTIFIED MOUNTAIN REGION, COLOMBIA
  • City: BOGOTA AND UNIDENTIFIED MOUNTAIN REGION, COLOMBIA
  • Country: Colombia
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA001AF0HWSN
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The political party formed by Colombia's former Marxist FARC rebels on Wednesday (May 15) accused the far right of assassinating its members, but pledged to continue the process of reintegration.
    The statement by the Revolutionary Alternative Common Force (FARC) came a day after the shooting death of Jorge Enrique Corredor, the highest ranking former FARC commander to be killed since a peace deal was signed in late 2016.
    At least 139 former FARC rebels have been killed nationwide since the signing of a peace deal with then-President Juan Manuel Santos, which brought an end to the FARC's part in a five-decade conflict that left more than 260,000 dead and millions displaced.
    Under the terms of the agreement some 13,000 members of the rebel group, including more than 6,000 combatants, handed in their weapons and formed the FARC political party.
    The FARC has repeatedly raised concerns that they may be assassinated by right-wing paramilitary gangs or drug traffickers, in a replay of more than 3,000 targeted killings during the 1980s, when the group first attempted to form a political party.
    (Production: Javier Andres Rojas)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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