* “Concrete advances” cited in talks
* Hopes that pace of talks will increase
* Negotiations to resume Jan. 14
By Jeff Franks and Nelson Acosta
HAVANA, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Talks to end Colombia’s bloody,
half-century-long conflict with Marxist-led FARC rebels have
made progress, but many challenges lie ahead, the government’s
top negotiator said on Friday.
Former vice president Humberto de la Calle, speaking after
the two sides finished their second round of meetings and broke
until Jan. 14, said they had agreed on some “unprecedented
mechanisms” for civic input into the peace process.
“Since Nov. 19 when we formally began, we’ve had 21 sessions
and more than 100 hours of intense work, and concrete advances,
all as expected,” said de la Calle, who read a statement but did
not take questions.
“The challenge is great. We have five more points (on the
agenda), all sensitive and vital,” he said. “We hope to be able
to advance with greater celerity and in an expedited way.”
The two sides are trying to end a war that dates back to
1964 when the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,
was formed as a communist agrarian movement to fight the
country’s long history of social inequality.
Tens of thousands of people have died and millions have been
displaced in South America’s last Marxist-led armed rebellion, a
vestige of the Cold War.
Three previous peace attempts have failed, but Colombian
President Juan Manuel Santos hopes a decade-long, U.S.-backed
offensive has weakened the rebels enough that they will want to
end the fighting on the best possible terms.
If peace is not achieved, the FARC still has 9,000 troops
that can keep inflicting damage on the continent’s
fourth-largest economy.
The negotiations, which are being held in a Havana
convention center in the ritziest part of the Cuban capital,
have begun with the topic of rural development, the first of six
points to be addressed.
Others range from the rebels’ involvement in the illicit
drug trade to their future political participation.
De la Calle said so far Colombians, whose opinions are being
sought online and in public forums, had provided nearly 3,000
suggestions to aid the peace process, some of which were being
closely studied.
He said the negotiators also were receiving ideas from
development experts and from peasants about how to improve life
for the rural poor in Colombia.
In a joint communique issued on Friday, the two sides said
the conversations have been held “in an atmosphere of respect
and constructive spirit.”
The FARC declared a two-month unilateral ceasefire when the
talks began in November in Havana and complained this week that
the government had not joined it in laying down arms.
Instead, the government has kept up its offensive, killing
at least 20 FARC guerrillas in one attack this month.
Santos has vowed to maintain military pressure instead of
allowing the rebels to regroup as they did during previous
failed peace talks a decade ago.
He wants to peace process wrapped up by November, 2013,
although the rebels said it could take much longer.
FARC negotiators were scheduled to hold a press conference
later on Friday.
(Reporting By Jeff Franks, Nelson Acosta and Rosa Tania Valdes;
Editing by David Gregorio)
