Colombia’s largest rebel group, the FARC, on Tuesday said it was not responsible for stealing hundreds of thousands of acres of land from the Colombian people.
Contrary to numerous reports of the guerrillas operating almost carte blanche in large swaths of Colombia and
“They disfigure reality…in a badly intentioned and perverse form, they try to divert [attention] from the causes and from who is truly responsible for the robbery of close to 8 million hectares (19.7 million acres),” said Marquez.
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“We hope the government does not abuse the table. We call on the Colombian people to mobilize in defense of the peace process, to not permit [the government] to rob us of this hope,” said the guerrilla leader.
Marquez intimated that the latest announcements by president Juan Manuel Santos were motivated by “electoral” concerns and his interest in “rebounding in the polls.”
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Santos said Saturday that if negotiations with the FARC did not advance, the government would not hesitate to call them off. The president had previously stated that the talks would not last past November of 2013.
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