COLOMBIA: Colombia is to begin peace talks with FARC rebel group soon though some residents are still guarded about trusting the guerillas after five decades of armed conflict

Record ID: 349590

  • Title: COLOMBIA: Colombia is to begin peace talks with FARC rebel group soon though some residents are still guarded about trusting the guerillas after five decades of armed conflict
  • Date: 28th August 2012
  • Summary: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (AUGUST 27, 2012) (REUTERS) FORMER HIGH PEACE COMMISSIONER, CAMILO GOMEZ, WORKING IN HIS OFFICE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FORMER HIGH PEACE COMMISSIONER, CAMILO GOMEZ, SAYING: "The situation today is different. The economy is solid, the armed forces are strong, the police force is strong, international relations are much more solid, and the population is much
  • Embargoed: 12th September 2012 13:00
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  • Location: Cuba
  • Country: Cuba
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA56M88BTTMXJIR7HNED8PD4PTN
  • Story Text: Colombia's government will soon begin talks that could lead to formal negotiations for peace with the country's biggest guerrilla group, known as the FARC, a Colombian intelligence source said on Monday (August 27).
    As part of the deal to hold talks, the government has agreed that leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia would not be extradited to another country to stand trial, the source said.
    One aide at President Juan Manuel Santos' office flatly denied that any talks are taking place, but a second aide said only that any official word on peace dealings would come from Santos himself.
    The last peace effort ended in shambles when former President Andres Pastrana ceded the FARC a safe haven in 1998 the size of Switzerland to promote talks.
    The rebels took advantage of the military absence to train fighters, build more than 25 airstrips to fly drug shipments and established prison camps to hold its hostages.
    A former High Peace Commissioner under then President Pastrana who led the country from 1998 to 2002, Camilo Gomez, told Reuters he believes things have changed since then.
    "The situation today is different. The economy is solid, the armed forces are strong, the police force is strong, international relations are much more solid, and the population is much more cohesive surrounding the government and the FARC. I wouldn't say they are stronger or not, but they've been hit hard and more importantly I think they've realized that they are out of time for the war and the time to start to think about peace has come," Gomez said.
    A successful peace agreement with the rebels would secure Santos a place in history when so many other presidents have failed to bring a lasting ceasefire during the group's almost five decades of war.
    Santos, at the mid-point of his four-year term, has said he would only consider peace talks with the FARC if he was certain the drug-funded group would negotiate in good faith.
    However, news of the peace talks has already angered his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, who has criticized any idea of negotiations with the rebels and has slammed Santos for wanting "peace at any cost."
    Some residents in Bogota also met the news of potential peace talks with guarded hope.
    "I think the best thing right now is to make clear decisions and tell the guerrillas that it is not ok and if they are going to do something clear that they do it taking immediate measures. Not having roundtable negotiations, unless they finally decide to drop the war," William Gomez said.
    "I don't think we are ready yet. I think the FARC have tricked us a lot and this is just one more time that they fool us," another resident, Hector Reyes told Reuters.
    The FARC, which calls itself "the people's army" defending peasant rights, has battled about a dozen administrations since appearing in 1964, when its founder Manuel Marulanda and 48 rebels fought off thousands of troops in jungle hide-outs.
    The group has faced its toughest defeats in recent years as U.S.-trained special forces have used sophisticated technology and spy networks to track the leaders.
    The FARC's string of defeats began in 2008 with a cross-border military raid into Ecuador that killed Raul Reyes, its second in command.
    Marulanda died of a heart attack weeks later and was replaced by Alfonso Cano, who was later killed too.
    The drug-funded group is now led by Timoleon Jimenez, known by his war alias "Timochenko."
    Santos discussed the peace process during talks in Havana with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and former President Fidel Castro just ahead of the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena earlier this year, the source said.
    Congress passed a constitutional reform in June that set the legal basis for eventual peace with Colombia's rebels. The reform prohibits guerrilla leaders accused of crimes against humanity from holding political office.
    Details are still being worked out, the intelligence source said, but negotiations could take place in Cuba or Norway. U.S. President Barack Obama is aware of the process and is in agreement, the source told Reuters.
    Colombia's second-biggest guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army, known as ELN, also said it is willing to talk peace with the government.
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