There is evidence that factions of guerrilla group FARC in the country’s south are not willing to participate in the peace process, according to a Colombian senator.
Conservative senator Carlos Ramiro Chavarro believed elements of FARC in the south are not willing to fully engage in the unfolding peace process, which would therefore undermine any peace deal reached between the government and the insurgents in Oslo.
“We urge the government and the guerrillas to say if the southern mobile block and the Teofilo Forero mobile column are in the peace process, because they are still recruiting and trafficking drugs,” the senator was quoted in local media as saying.
For his part, Conservative Party President Efrain Cepeda reportedly said, “the dialogue needs to be with 100% of the guerrillas to be legitimate.”
Senior representatives from the Colombian government and FARC are currently engaged in phase two of peace talks in Oslo. Public statements by FARC indicate that the organization support, in principle at least, reaching a peace accord with President Juan Manuel Santos’ administration.
However, it remains to be confirmed if there are serious disagreements within FARC and whether some fighters may be tempted to destabilize the peace process.