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FARC Leader Rejects Pastrana's Commission Plans
Colombia's guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), said on Monday that they will not resume peace talks with the government before January 31, when the buffer zone program comes to an end.
FARC leader Manuel Marulanda Velez rejected the idea of a commission comprising national and international members, which was proposed by Colombian President Andres Pastrana to solve the differences arising in peace talk process between the rebels and the government.
Yet, the rebel leader also said both sides should keep other mechanisms open to negotiate the exchange of prisoners.
In talks that lasted more than half an hour with journalists in Los Pozos, Marulanda said there could be no mediators to help resolve the conflict between the guerrillas and the government. Problems related to the peace process could only be solved by the parties involved, he added.
The guerrilla chief suggested that a government-FARC commission should be set up to explain to the international community as well as to the Colombians the achievements of the two year's of negotiations.
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