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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Wednesday, April 16, 2003

Colombian President Declares War on Rebels

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe declared war on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Tuesday and rejected the rebels' proposal for establishing demilitarized zones.


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Colombian President Alvaro Uribe declared war on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Tuesday and rejected the rebels' proposal for establishing demilitarized zones.

In a speech on the occasion of the establishment of a mobile brigade for the Llanos Orientales region, Uribe said that during his presidency, "the bandits" will not enjoy the space they had in the past years.

Uribe was sworn in August 2002 and his four-year term will finish in 2006.

The president also rejected FARC's proposal for creating demilitarized zones as the precondition for exchanging 400 captured rebels for 70 hostages in the guerrilla group's hands.

FARC, the largest and oldest rebel group in Colombia, is blamedfor the kidnapping of five lawmakers, two former ministers, two ex-governors, 12 regional representatives, one former presidential candidate, about 50 police officers and soldiers, and some other people.

Another FARC proposal, a direct dialogue with Colombian armed forces officials, excluding the government, was also rejected.

Uribe's predecessor, Andres Pastrana, held direct talks with FARC leaders in more than three years in a bid to end their four decade-long insurgency. However, the talks broke down in February 2002.

More than 3,000 people are killed every year in conflicts between government troops and leftist guerrillas, far-right paramilitaries and other rebels.


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