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 Posté le: Jeu Aoû 29, 2013 3:54 pm Sujet du message: FARC decides to ‘pause’ Havana peace tal |
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FARC decides to ‘pause’ Havana peace talks - BuenosAiresHerald.com
Temporary suspension comes after president’s referendum proposalHAVANA — Colombia’s largest guerrilla army temporarily walked away from peace talks with the government yesterday, over President Juan Manuel Santos’ refusal to agree to modify the Constitution if a peace pact is struck.It is the first time either side has broken off negotiations that began last year in Havana, other than for planned recesses. But the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC,Michael Kors Handbags Outlet, stopped short of pulling out of the peace process entirely.The move comes after Santos announced on Thursday night that he was asking Congress to consider a bill that would let a public referendum on an eventual peace deal coincide with congressional or presidential elections next year. His proposal for the referendum falls short of the constitutional convention sought by the FARC.The government and rebels have long been at odds on the issue, and Santos’ decision prompted the rebels to call a time-out to regroup.“The FARC has decided to take a pause from the discussion table to focus exclusively on analyzing the reach of the government proposal, without detriment to the internal consultation it must perform as an organization,” the rebels said in a statement read to reporters by Jorge Torres Victoria, a high-ranking leader who goes by the nom de guerre Pablo Catatumbo.The FARC did not say how long it would stay away from the negotiations.Humberto de la Calle, Santos’ lead negotiator at the Havana talks, took the news cautiously, saying “the government remains at the table... we hope (this pause) is brief.”Speaking at a public event in Choco late yesterday, Santos struck an optimistic tone.“It is perfectly legitimate and valid for (the FARC) to study this proposal,” the president said, “but time passes and the Colombian people’s patience has a limit, and we have to keep moving forward in the talks.”REFERENDUMOn Thursday he presented Congress with a bill to lift the prohibition on referendums being held in the same vote as presidential or congressional elections. Santos, who has bet his political legacy on bringing peace to the Andean nation, is expected to run for a second term in elections next May, and legislative elections are in March.The FARC said it still considers the constituent assembly, which would be tasked with enshrining the tenets of the peace accords in the nation’s Constitution, as the best way to reach a fair and binding peace treaty.Colombians are desperate to see an end to the war that has killed more than 200,000 people and displaced millions since it began in 1964. Santos is also keen to negotiate peace with the National Liberation Army, a smaller rebel group known as the ELN. He has said he wants the FARC peace accord by November.In his final year of a four-year term,Michael Kors Outlet, Santos has ruled out a constituent assembly and said the Colombian people must support any deals reached before an end to the war can be declared.De la Calle said the aim of the referendum bill is to encourage increased participation by linking it to an election.Santos ally,michael kors canada, Simon Gaviria of the Liberal Party, said holding the referendum at the same time as a scheduled election would save the nation US$93.6 million.He said he was not concerned by the FARC’s suspension of talks.“It seems to us that, without a doubt, this is a process of negotiation... it does not worry us, nor do we think we have to take the FARC into consideration to make these changes (to electoral rules).”Opposition lawmaker Ivan Cepeda of the Alternative Democratic Pole party criticized Santos for apparently making the decision unilaterally.“A decision of this nature pertaining to timing should be fully agreed to by both sides,” Cepeda said.Formed in the 1960s, the FARC is the oldest active guerrilla army in the Western Hemisphere.Before the pause, talks were focused on the second item on a six-point agenda: the rebels’ political integration in a post-conflict Colombia.Earlier this year a preliminary accord was struck on the first item, agrarian reform, a key issue in decades-old armed conflict.“We have made much progress, I must reiterate that point,Michael Kors Handbags,” Santos said. “The agreement we reached on the first point is a transcendental agreement. Nobody, or few, imagined we would reach a deal on that first point.”The latest disruption in the talks — already painstakingly slow — comes on the heels of several comments from the FARC in recent days that appeared to show irritation with comments from Santos.In a recent interview, Santos told Reuters that the rebel leadership could face jail terms if peace is achieved. He also said FARC negotiators would need to return to Colombia’s jungle and face capture or a battle death if talks collapse.Herald with AP, Reuters |
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