The President of Colombia’s Congress has confirmed that a commission will travel to Havana, Cuba, to express the Congress’ worries about the slow pace of the peace negotiations between the government and the country’s main rebel group FARC.
Juan Fernando Cristo told Caracol Radio that the Congress are just waiting for the right moment to go so as to ensure that it is “useful, convenient and appropriate.”
“There’s obviously a worry about the time that it’s taking,” he said in reference to the peace talks, which began in November but have thus far only achieved an agreement on land reform, the first point of the 5-point agenda.
“The process is being drawn out to a dangerous extent, which doesn’t help its image in Colombia,” Cristo said, adding that the political parties need to speak to the government and the FARC and get them to “accelerate” the process.
Although no date was fixed for the visit of the comission from Congress, Cristo did confirm that it would be after October 3rd, when the next cycle of negotiations begins.
In early September, President Juan Manuel Santos also voiced his concerns over the slow progress of the negotiations: “To postpone only postpones crucial moments. There comes a time when you have to take the bull by the horns and make decisions, we are approaching that time.”
MORE: Santos does not rule out trip to Havana to explain policies to FARC
The aim of the peace talks in Havana is to bring to an end the 49-year armed conflict in Colombia. No agreement has yet been reached on the FARC’s political participation, drug trafficking, the practicalities of the end of the conflict and the rights of the victims.