COLOMBIA/FILE: Optimism for peace remains one year into talks between the Colombian government and FARC rebels

Record ID: 349790

  • Title: COLOMBIA/FILE: Optimism for peace remains one year into talks between the Colombian government and FARC rebels
  • Date: 18th November 2013
  • Summary: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (FILE - 2009) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) SOLDIERS DURING A CEREMONY THEN DEFENSE MINISTER JUAN MANUEL SANTOS WITH THEN COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT ALVARO URIBE BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (FILE - 2008) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FRENCH-COLOMBIAN POLITICIAN INGRID BETANCOURT AFTER SHE WAS FREED FROM CAPTIVITY IN A CONTROVERSIAL MILITARY OPERATION LA MACARENA, COL
  • Embargoed: 3rd December 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Cuba
  • Country: Cuba
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAAD8M0E5ZJJMLCOQV3HZ2CWTI8
  • Story Text: With peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC rebels now reaching the one year mark, optimism remains that a peace deal can be reached to end the bloody conflict which has been waged over the past 50 years.
    President Juan Manuel Santos has put his political life on the line with the peace talks and has long insisted the peace process should pick up steam.
    Peace talks in Havana, Cuba will reach the one year mark on Tuesday (November 18).
    As of yet the parties have only reached two partial agreements in a five point plan designed to end with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) laying down their weapons and transforming into a political movement.
    The lead government negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, recently said the government is not turning its back on the peace process despite a frustratingly lethargic pace.

    "Seeing as an opportunity exists to really resolve this long conflict with dialogue, we believe the moral imperative for the government is to exhaust this instrument. What I am saying is that we are not in Havana to sponsor violence or to foment the conflict, but to end it. I am not saying it is certain that it is possible to end the conflict with an agreement, but I do assert, with absolute certainty, that there is an opportunity. And on the part of the FARC delegation there is an interest to seriously consider the hypothesis of an end," de la Calle said.
    Santos, a former defense minister under his predecessor, Alvaro Uribe, has laid his political chips on the table and is looking to secure a peace deal ahead of an expected reelection bid in 2014.
    Polls indicate most Colombians support the efforts to end the longest running insurgency in the Americas which has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced more than a million more, but the issue has duped past presidents who have tried only to see negotiations collapse.
    However, Santos appears determined to continue with the momentum and one up those who have attempted to reach peace before him.

    "Believe me; we are going to get there. Because what has happened in this year of talks has been important. I would have liked to have advanced more quickly, but 50 years of war can't be resolved in a short time. We have to heal wounds. We have to reconcile the country," Santos said.
    At the start of talks Santos said a deal should have been reached in months, not years.
    But a year into the sticky process negotiators have only partial agreements in agrarian and land reform and the future participation of rebels in politics.
    These represent just two of five points in an ambitious agenda that is meant to be all or nothing.
    Santos has said he will not break the peace talks during the election process, meaning it will likely be at the forefront of debate ahead of the vote in May next year.
    Though the process faces some strong headwinds, many remain optimistic that this time peace may be at hand.
    A former interior minister and independent political analyst, Nestor Humberto Martinez, said the talks have already made significant accomplishments.

    "In 50 years of violence we have never had agreements on anything and it is the first time that in a year we have agreements in the background on two points. Agreements that don't affect democracy or the economic system. And what they are doing in the background is opening political space so that parts of society with a different state view, of rights, can incorporate themselves into the democratic conversation through an organized political party. This is supremely better," Martinez said.
    Martinez said the most difficult parts of the negotiation are behind peace negotiators as they move on to resolving drug trafficking, victim compensation and formally ending the conflict -- issues he said should move more quickly.

    "Well, the process is entering what I would say are less complicated issues. With the drug trafficking issue, I think some aspects are understood. The country has to overcome this problem and what has to be found is an alternative dignified life for those who demobilize and for the farming communities where drugs have been the primary source of income and we say this is a natural job for the state and if we do it in agreement with the armed insurgency we can be successful in this process. The other is the issue of the surrendering of weapons. The implementation of the agreements, which are basically all the aspects, the details, let's call it that, but I am very optimistic they will bring about very positive results," Martinez said.
    Despite the ongoing peace process both sides are still engaged in combat.
    Colombian armed forces continue to seek out FARC rebels who have stepped up attacks on economic infrastructure.
    The peace process could hinge on Santos' reelection. He has until November 25 to announce whether he will seek a second term and continue with the project.
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