Don’t miss the latest developments in business and finance.

Colombian rebels urge concrete steps towards peace

Image
IANS Bogota
Last Updated : Sep 25 2014 | 10:35 AM IST

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has urged President Juan Manuel Santos to take concrete steps toward peace.

Santos, whose administration initiated peace talks with the rebels to end five decades of fighting, is currently in New York to attend the 69th session of the UN General Assembly, Xinhua reported.

"Undertaking a tour in the name of peace, as the one the president is on now in the US, would imply going beyond rhetoric," FARC negotiator Ivan Marquez said prior to the start of the latest round of talks in Havana, Cuba.

Marquez said Colombian authorities should reflect their stated desire for peace with "concrete steps such as an armistice that could put us on the final stretch toward our reconciliation".

Marquez urged Santos to address the politically "sensitive issues, such as interference in the conflict by foreign powers".

Throughout the peace talks, which began in November 2012, the two sides have reached partial agreements, including agrarian reform, political participation for the rebels, and the FARC's ties to drug trafficking, but a definitive deal is yet to take shape.

Also Read

First Published: Sep 25 2014 | 10:26 AM IST

Next Story