Colombian govt, FARC "close" to land reform agreement

The government’s chief negotiator in the peace talks Wednesday announced an agreement is close to being reached between rebel group FARC and the state over land reform issues.

After two meetings on Wednesday, one with the conservative party and the other with Colombian Farmers’ Society, chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle announced that “we are on the verge of completing the first sub-point [of the land reform issue], which concerns the access and use of the land.”

The negotiator emphasized the significance of this progress in the debate over land reform, stating that “the remaining points require a more ordinary discussion, which will not represent any serious difficulty.”

The peace talks have been postponed since March 30, with both sides agreeing to the postponement in order to work individually on proposals to end the land reform debate.


The talks are due to be resumed in Havana, Cuba, on April 18. The next issue to be discussed will be the political participation of the FARC rebels.

The four remaining themes to be tackled are drug-trafficking, the end of the armed conflict, aid for victims and the final endorsement of the written agreements at the negotiation table.

Source http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/peace-talks/28809-colombian-govt-farc-qcloseq-to-land-reform-agreement.html