- Title: CUBA : FARC rebels coincide with Colombia on rural development as talks continue
- Date: 23rd January 2013
- Summary: HAVANA, CUBA (JANUARY 23, 2013) (REUTERS) ( ** BEWARE FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY *) EXTERIOR OF VENUE WHERE THE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT-FARC PEACE TALKS ARE TAKING PLACE FARC NEGOTIATING DELEGATION ARRIVING FOR TALKS CAMERAMAN VARIOUS OF FARC REPRESENTATIVES ENTERING NEGOTIATIONS GENERAL VIEW OF FARC REPRESENTATIVE, TANJA NIJMEIJER (THE DUTCH FARC MEMBER) READING STATEMENT (SOUNDBITE
- Embargoed: 7th February 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Cuba
- Country: Cuba
- Topics: Conflict,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAEXIY3Q8XDDMNPF30OGY3LZ530
- Story Text: Marxist FARC rebels say they agree with the government in the need for the state to peruse rural development as they return to peace talks in Havana.
FARC rebels said on Wednesday (January 23) that they agreed at least in part with the Colombian government in terms of rural development, a critical topic which is key in peace talks between the two sides as they look to end a bloody, half-century-old conflict.
The peace talks began in Havana last November 19 and aim to end the bloody conflict which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions more since the FARC or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, was founded in 1964.
Both parties have so far only agreed on procedural issues and have provided little information on how talks are advancing, arguing a lack of discretion has affected talks in the past.
Nevertheless, FARC representative, Alexandra Narino, said both parties had spoken about rural development and the need to protect local farmers.
"The real and effective respect of autonomy and the political, economic, social and cultural organisation of these communities, based on their own jurisdictions, and the responsibility of the State for their protection and financing," she said upon arrival at the talks on Wednesday.
The FARC, founded as a communist agrarian movement to fight Colombia's long history of social inequality and concentration of land ownership.
FARC negotiator, Ivan Marquez, said they had agreed with the government to develop policies to support local farmers.
"We agree with the government that it's urgent and necessary to develop policies on behalf of the state to resolve this situation and support the farmer, who has been forgotten for a long time, and this abandonment is what contributes to generate these types of problems; including others which are very serious and are related to the causes which motivated the conflict such as this one involving the concentration of land and large estates," Marquez said.
With Norway and Cuba acting as guarantors, the government and FARC are following an agenda addressing the basic issues of the conflict, among them rural development, the FARC's involvement in the illicit drug trade, the political and legal future of the group and restitution for the war's victims.
The FARC issued a 10-point proposal for rural development that included its traditional demands for land reform and aid for the rural poor, limits to foreign use of land and respect for the environment and indigenous peoples.
The FARC issued a communiqu�on Wednesday with a sixth and seventh initiative with regards to rural development, including the recognition of collective land of the indigenous in towns, as well as the recognition and definition of farming lands.
Three previous peace attempts have failed, but President Juan Manuel Santos is betting that a decade-long, U.S.-backed offensive has weakened the rebels enough that they will want to end the fighting on the best possible terms.
If peace is not achieved, the FARC still has around 9,000 troops that can continue to inflict damage on Latin America's fourth-largest economy. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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