HAVANA.—Representatives of the FARC-EP and the Colombian government began talks on the need to end paramilitarism in Colombia as a prerequisite for peace, this Thursday, January 21.
Speaking in the context of the peace talks, which have been ongoing since 2012, FARC-EP spokesman Pablo Catatumbo noted that it was difficult to envision the FARC-EP ceasing to be an armed organization to become a legal political movement without guarantees regarding the eradication of paramilitary forces in the country.
Meanwhile in Colombia, the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace confirmed that four of the sixteen Colombian guerrillas released after receiving a presidential pardon were authorized to travel to Cuba in order to prepare for future peace missions.
An official statement noted that this was an initial unilateral gesture on the part of the Colombian government, after assessing compliance with the ceasefire declared by the FARC-EP six months ago, the consequent decline in violence in the country and progress in the talks in Havana.
So far, delegations have reached consensus on the issues of comprehensive rural reform, political participation, illicit drugs and victims of the conflict.
In addition, they agreed to create a tripartite mechanism to monitor and verify a future bilateral, definitive ceasefire and the laying down of arms, in which both sides will be represented, together with an international component consisting of a UN mission composed of observers from member countries of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
