FARC says conflict nearing end
Iran Press TV
Tue Jul 16, 2013 10:20AM GMT
The chief negotiator for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) says the decades-long conflict is approaching an end.
'We understand, and the country understands it as well, that wars are not eternal, and we feel certain somehow that Colombia is near the end of the conflict,' Ivan Marquez said Monday.
FARC's number two leader and top negotiator Marquez has also called on left-wing parties and unions to join the peace efforts.
Negotiations for peace between FARC rebels and the Colombian government have been underway in the Cuban capital, Havana, following an initial round of discussions in Oslo, Norway in November 2012.
According to the government, the two sides have already agreed on land reforms. Meanwhile, the new round of talks, started on July 15, has been focused on FARC rebels' participation in politics.
The other items on the agenda include drug trafficking, arms turnover and compensation for victims of the insurgency.
Marquez also urged a constitutional assembly be convened, saying, "such a constitutional assembly would surround the [peace] agreement with legitimacy."
FARC is Latin America's oldest insurgent group and has been fighting the government since 1964.
The Colombian government estimates that 600,000 people have been killed and three million people have been internally displaced by the fighting.
The rebel organization is thought to have around 8,000 fighters operating across a large swathe of the eastern jungles of the Andean nation.
MM/HN
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