FARC vows to continue unilateral ceasefire
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By Staff Writers, teleSUR
teleSUR
Tuesday, Apr 21, 2015
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| Members of FARC-EP delegation in peace talks with the Colombian government: (L-R) Commanders Pablo Catatumbo (R) and Ivan Marquez. | Photo: AFP
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The FARC peace talks delegation in Havana, Cuba, confirmed Monday that they would continue with their unilateral cease-fire as long as the Colombian armed forces suspends all military operations against them.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) spokesperson in the peace talks taking place in the Caribbean nation, Pablo Catatumbo, also demanded the creation of a supervisory body to monitor that the cease-fire is being respected and that the armed forces refrain from attacking rebel positions.
“We will maintain the cease-fire as long as we are not attacked by the military,” he said.
Catatumbo criticized those he said are attempting to interrupt the peace process through military attacks against the FARC rebels. The government is responsible for guaranteeing the peace process continues in order to achieve the “construction of a stable and true peace in Colombia.”
He also called on the government to avoid allowing the October elections to affect the peace process, saying that “the peace talks cannot be interrupted for any reason.”
The FARC leader also insisted on the need for the government to open up the files in relation to the conflict in order to “vindicate the movement of the victims of the civil war.”
The rebel statement comes at the end of the 35th cycle of the peace talks, which began in December 2012 in a bid to end the more than 50-year-old internal conflict that has left over 220,000 people dead, and millions of victims displaced.
Tensions were high as the peace talks resumed last week, due to a clash between the Colombian armed forces and FARC rebels in the southern region of Cauca, where 11 soldiers and two rebels were killed.
On Thursday, Catatumbo denied the group had broken their unilateral cease-fire, saying rebels were acting in self-defense. "There was a military confrontation caused by an army siege, which is not new. This operation against these units has been going on for four months," Catatumbo stated.
During their December unilateral truce announcement, the rebel fighters said they would not engage in offensives against Colombian security forces, but maintained they would respond if engaged.
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