FARC rebels accuse Colombia of secrecy in talks
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has accused the Colombian government of reaching a “secret” agreement with wealthy Colombian landowners, rather than talking to farmers.
On Friday, FARC negotiator Jesus Santrich made the remarks during the latest round of peace talks, which resumed on Monday and will end on Sunday in the Cuban capital Havana.
Santrich accused the government of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos of reaching an agreement with wealthy landowners instead of the indigenous farmers in an attempt to put an end to three weeks of protests over the high price of fertilizers and cheap imports of agricultural products from Europe and the United States.
On September 7, farm leaders came to an agreement with Bogota to end the protests, which left at least five people dead, and caused food shortage in the country.
Talks between the FARC rebels and the Colombian government kicked off in the Cuban capital Havana in November 2012. The talks recess and resume every few weeks as clashes between the two sides continue.
FARC is Latin America's oldest insurgent group and has been fighting the government since 1964.
Bogota estimates that 600,000 people have been killed, and some three million others 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.
Source http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/14/323805/farc-rebels-accuse-bogota-of-secrecy/
On Friday, FARC negotiator Jesus Santrich made the remarks during the latest round of peace talks, which resumed on Monday and will end on Sunday in the Cuban capital Havana.
Santrich accused the government of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos of reaching an agreement with wealthy landowners instead of the indigenous farmers in an attempt to put an end to three weeks of protests over the high price of fertilizers and cheap imports of agricultural products from Europe and the United States.
On September 7, farm leaders came to an agreement with Bogota to end the protests, which left at least five people dead, and caused food shortage in the country.
“I think the president should listen to the farmers, the indigenous, the Afro descendant population who live in our rural areas,” said the FARC negotiator.
Talks between the FARC rebels and the Colombian government kicked off in the Cuban capital Havana in November 2012. The talks recess and resume every few weeks as clashes between the two sides continue.
FARC is Latin America's oldest insurgent group and has been fighting the government since 1964.
Bogota estimates that 600,000 people have been killed, and some three million others 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.
Source http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/09/14/323805/farc-rebels-accuse-bogota-of-secrecy/
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