Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos urged rebel group FARC on Tuesday to accelerate ongoing peace talks as according to the head of state people are growing skeptical of the effectiveness of the negotiations.
Santos made this statement while celebrating the launch of a “Route to Reparations for Victims of Displacement” program in San Carlos, a town in the state of Antioquia.
“The biggest enemy of the process is the skepticism, is its lack of standing, lack of credibility,” said the President during his remarks during the ceremony.
The president said that people are asking, “Well, why is nothing advancing? Why have they not reached an agreement?” He believes that ownness lies currently on the FARC to hurry up their operations.
“I say again to the FARC: accelerate this process. This is important for the process itself. We need to move, we need to reach agreements, we can not continue indefinitely postponing decisions…The Colombian people will gradually increase their skepticism, and that’s bad for the pursuit of peace,” he affirmed.
Peace talks between the FARC and Colombia have been going on since November, 2012, and thus far, only one point — agrarian reform — has been officially agreed upon of the lengthy six point agenda.
MORE: Text of deal between Colombia’s government and rebel group FARC to end armed conflict
“[The most important thing now] is to be bold, be brave, and make decisions, which I’m sure will be worth it if the prize is peace,” Santos restated from his speech at the United Nations General Assembly two weeks ago.
These statements by the president come after rumors have emerged that Santos has been considering possibly delaying or stopping peace talks prior to the elections season in the spring 2014. Such a act would likely have serious political ramifications for the incumbent.
MORE: Rumors emerge that peace process could be delayed or abandoned
November 18 will mark the anniversary of the beginning of peace talks that hope to end a 50 year armed conflict in Colombia.
Sources
- El Presidente pide a las Farc acelerar porque la gente empieza a no creer en el proceso de paz (CM&)
- El Presidente pide a las Farc acelerar porque la gente empieza a no creer en el proceso de paz (Oficina de la Precidencia)
