Colombia’s largest rebel group, FARC, said on Tuesday it was naive to think leaders of the organization would go to prison if there is a peace accord with the Colombian government.
“Unconditional rendition of the guerrillas, handing over arms, submission to their policies, all in exchange for two or three seats in the congress, a [FARC commander] passing two months or so in charge of the ministry of work or health, some promises and up to a few years in prison for the principal leaders of the insurgency [and] that’s it. Naivety or cynicism? Perhaps both,” said a FARC message signed by the Secretariat, the organization’s ruling body.
MORE: FARC leadership not guilty of killing archbishop: Tribunal
The FARC said it was “naive” of the government to think peace in Colombia could be achieved without also changing the country’s economic model.
MORE: FARC: Peace talks should come before ‘electoral politics’
“It is unrealistic to pretend that the conversations between the government and the insurgency, to put an end to the conflict and set the bases for a stable peace, do not touch upon the economic model,” the rebel statement continued.
The FARC also asked Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos to “identify the enemies of peace” in his own cabinet, while still reiterating that the rebel group was ready to continue negotiating until a final peace accord was reached.
Sources
- Manuel Vivo (Official FARC blog)
- Farc dicen que no aceptarán ir a la cárcel en un eventual acuerdo de paz (Caracol Radio)
- Farc dicen que no estarán ni un día en la cárcel si se logra la paz (El Espectador)
