Colombia agrees to hold peace talks with Farc rebels

[Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant']

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has confirmed his government is holding exploratory talks with the country's largest rebel group, the Farc.
In an address on state TV, Mr Santos said he was fulfilling his "duty to seek peace". Media reports say a deal on further talks was reached in Cuba.
The Farc has been fighting the Colombian government since 1964.
The president said the second biggest rebel group, the ELN, had also indicated a readiness to talk.
Mr Santos gave no details about the exploratory talks with the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc).
According to the regional media network Telesur, negotiators from the two sides signed a preliminary agreement in the Cuban capital Havana on Monday.
Telesur said the first round of peace talks would be held in the Norwegian capital Oslo on 5 October. Negotiators would then continue holding talks in Havana, it added.
Referring to previous failed talks with the Farc during the government of then-president Andres Pastrana, Mr Santos said his government had "learned from the mistakes committed in the past".
Mr Santos said military operations would continue and that "each centimetre of the country would have a military presence".
As part of the peace talks launched in 1998, Mr Pastrana had granted the Farc a safe haven the size of Switzerland in the south-east to help move peace talks along.
The zone was off-limits to the army and the rebels used it to train and regroup.
Mr Pastrana ordered the rebels out of their safe haven after the peace talks failed in February 2002, but part of the area remains a rebel stronghold to this day.

(More at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-19393096)

[Andropov]

As part of the peace talks launched in 1998, Mr Pastrana had granted the Farc a safe haven the size of Switzerland in the south-east to help move peace talks along.
The zone was off-limits to the army and the rebels used it to train and regroup.
Ahh the good old BBC.
I suppose during the negotiations with Pastrana the Colombian Army and terrorist AUC and other assorted death squads stopped training and arming and refused it as an opportunity to regroup?

[RedSonRising]

Ahh the good old BBC.
I suppose during the negotiations with Pastrana the Colombian Army and terrorist AUC and other assorted death squads stopped training and arming and refused it as an opportunity to regroup?

Sorry for misunderstanding but your question is kind of confusing. I assume you're asking generally what happened during that period. I can't recall the details perfectly at the moment but from what I remember, the government repeatedly violated peace agreements with the FARC with attacks in the decades leading up to the Pastrana presidency, and when negotiations finally looked serious under Pastrana, things went sour and the FARC reclaimed a good chunk of territory in the south. The Paramilitaries were said to have "disarmed", but they pretty much operate as they please as long as they don't step on the state's toes. I remember there being alleged government attempts at rehabilitating members from both sides into the civilian world, but it wasn't exactly successful.


All in all, I think peace negotiations will allow for an opportunity for more varied and effective forms of resistance to the state to flourish, and for less blood to be shed.

[Os Cangaceiros]

You really have to wonder what the Colombian state was thinking granting FARC the "despeje".

I mean, from their standpoint, that was just a "what were you thinking?!" moment.

[RedSonRising]

Update: Cuba has recently reiterated their support for peace talks between the FARC and the Colombian government, and looks to lend support as negotiations develop.

http://noticias.terra.com.co/nacional/cuba-celebra-dialogos-de-paz-con-las-farc-y-reitera-su-ayuda,eb622db59e299310VgnVCM5000009ccceb0aRCRD.htm l