Colombian Rebels Propose Ceasefire
Colombian Rebels Propose Ceasefire
The FARC rebel group's announcement of an indefinite unilateral ceasefire helps Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, whose peace talks have been losing support, comments AS/COA's Christopher Sabatini.
BOGOTÁ, Colombia—Colombia’s largest Marxist rebel group says that it will embark on a unilateral, indefinite cease-fire beginning Saturday as a way to propel peace negotiations with President Juan Manuel Santos ’s government.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, has in the past temporarily halted its operations for Christmas holidays and elections, but an indefinite cease fire is unprecedented. Mr. Santos’s government declined to comment on the announcement, though analysts who track the peace process said it creates prickly scenarios for his administration, such as whether it should also call for a cease fire.
Mr. Santos has been criticized for carrying out a peace process that opponents claim will lead to impunity for FARC commanders, many of whom have been convicted in absentia for a range of war crimes. After two years of talks, in fact, support for the peace process is waning, even though the two sides have agreed on three of five points in an agenda that serves as a framework for the discussions.
Chris Sabatini, senior director of policy for the Council of the Americas in New York, noted that the government took a beating from critics after the FARC in November took an army general prisoner. Mr. Santos promptly called off talks, which weren't renewed until the general was released on Nov. 30.
“There were marches” against the peace process, said Mr. Sabatini, noting that a leader in the anti-peace talks movement is an influential former president, Álvaro Uribe. “Uribe supporters in Colombia and Washington were calling for an end to the peace process. This now helps Santos tremendously....”
