Opposition Senator Piedad Cordoba announced Tuesday that the FARC is ready to sit down and negotiate with the Colombian government without the precondition of establishing a demilitarized zone.
Cordoba said during an interview that the FARC would be prepared to sit down and talk with officials from the Colombian government, alongside Colombia’s high commissioner for peace, in an area of the country decided upon by the government.
Cordoba also said on Tuesday, in an interview with leftist Venezuelan TV station TeleSurTV, that the Colombian government should respond to the FARC’s offer to release hostages in exchange for the release of guerilla group’s members in Colombian prisons.
“We must pressure the current government to make the exchange before leaving office,” Cordoba said.
According to Cordoba, entering into a dialogue and a prisoner-exchange agreement would offer “much more space” for negotiating an end to Colombia’s internal conflict for the next presidential administration.
Cordoba went on to urge Colombian society to recognize the efforts and willingness of the FARC to participate in a negotiated end to the internal conflict, referring to the FARC’s decision to free hostages Pablo Emilio Moncayo and Josue Daniel Calvo, who are set to be released starting Saturday, calling it an “an act of goodwill.”
Cordoba also said that people should be aware of the importance of ending the country’s civil war, which, she claims, has unjustly entangled and put blame on neighboring countries.