HAVANA: Negotiators from the Colombian government and leftist guerrilla group Farc met yesterday on resuming peace talks whose balance of power has likely shifted since the rebels released five army captives.
In their first meeting since President Juan Manuel Santos suspended the talks over the capture of an army general, negotiators from the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia gathered behind closed doors in the Cuban capital Havana to discuss getting negotiations back on track.
“The recent successes, which demonstrate the strength of the process and the capacity to overcome obstacles from Havana, should make us take a leap forward,” said the government’s chief negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, on the sidelines of the meeting.
Analysts said the Farc’s show of strength in capturing General Ruben Alzate, their highest-ranking captive in 50 years of conflict — coupled with their readiness to compromise by releasing him two weeks later — likely gave them added bargaining power.
The rebels have called on the government to change the “rules of the game” for the negotiations following Alzate’s release, and their leader, Timoleon Jimenez, alias Timochenko, said last week that the talks “can’t just resume as they were.”
The Farc’s top demand is for a bilateral ceasefire, which Santos has repeatedly rejected on grounds that the guerrillas would use it to regroup, drawing out the war.
The guerrillas’ second-in-command, Ivan Marquez, repeated the demand on Monday night. “The government has broken the bridge of trust,” he said. “The process must be protected by an armistice.”
A source in the government delegation said they would sound out the Farc to “see what their mood, their willingness, their readiness is” to resume talks.AFP
