Colombian Government, FARC Resume Peace Talks In Havana
Colombian Government, FARC Resume Peace Talks In Havana
HAVANA, July 2 (BERNAMA-NNN-XINHUA) -- The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group resumed peace talks here Monday.
Chief rebel negotiator Ivan Marquez read a statement to the press in Havana, Cuba, reiterating the FARC's proposal to postpone upcoming presidential elections for a year to give the two sides more time to reach a peace deal.
Marquez also pushed for the creation of the National Constituent Assembly that could give any eventual peace deal a popular endorsement.
The government of President Juan Manuel Santos has repeatedly refused to consider postponing the elections after the FARC rebels raised the suggestion in early June, hoping to pressure the rebels into making concessions to end the five-decade-long conflict. The elections are scheduled to be held in May 2014.
Meanwhile, the chief government envoy to the talks, Humberto de la Calle, restated the official stance that a peace agreement "can only be implemented if the FARC rebels lay down their weapons and return to civilian life."
The two camps are now discussing the armed rebel movement's transition to a political party once the rebels lay down their weapons, the second of the five central negotiating points.
In May, both sides reached an agreement on the first negotiating point, agrarian reform and rural development.
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