Havana, Apr 3 (Prensa Latina) The peace delegation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People”s Army (FARC-EP) confirmed in this capital its commitment to ending the armed conflict in that country, while ruling out adapting the dialogue with the Government to fit the election campaign.
“The FARC guerrillas are here in Havana determined to reach an agreement with the government, for the country’s sake, with citizen participation, politically resolving the conflict and overcoming war through diplomacy,” said Ivan Marquez, the FARC’s team leader at the negotiation table.
In statements published by the Pueblo Colombiano website: “To the negotiation table!” Marquez stated that nothing should disrupt the discussion on agricultural development, the first of the issues analyzed in the FARC-EP-Colombian government talks, begun in Cuba on November 19.
“It is more urgent to engage, tirelessly, in extinguishing the causes of the social fire spreading throughout Colombia,” he said, in regard to pressures and criteria from sectors of the South American country interested in accelerating the dialogue ahead of the 2014 elections.
Regarding this scenario, the guerrilla commander said that “peace is not a package of promises to discuss an agenda, but the tangible completion of changes that benefit the majority.”
The roundtable discussions at Havana’s Conference Center between the insurgency and the Government are currently in recess. The parties use recesses to carry out internal consultations and analysis of the progress of the process, which is centered on a six-item agenda, including issues such as political participation, the problem of drug trafficking, and care for victims.
The dialogue should be resumed in the third week of April, continuing with the issue of land rights, and expectations that discussions will progress to the issue of political participation.