Colombia Rebels Condemn 'Unfortunate' Offensive
Colombia's leftist guerrillas on Friday criticized President Juan Manuel Santos's "unfortunate" decision to order a military offensive amid peace talks.
Santos ordered the armed forces Wednesday to dismantle the FARC's southern and eastern units, with a priority on capturing or killing five guerrilla leaders, according to Colombian media.
"This was an unfortunate decision of the president of the republic," said Rodrigo Granda, a FARC delegate in peace negotiations with the Santos government in Cuba aiming to end Latin America's oldest insurgency.
"We do not understand how you can talk about dialogue and peace while increasing the entire repressive apparatus, the entire armed forces of Colombia, the whole apparatus of death."
"We note that at this point, 63 billion pesos ($33.3 million) have been spent on the war in Colombia," he added.
"You're better off burning that money or putting it aside... it could build 100,000 schools."
Since the start of peace talks, President Santos has refused to agree to a ceasefire during negotiations, the fourth attempt since the 1980s to end the insurgency.
The last peace talks, in 2002, fell apart when the government concluded that the guerrillas were regrouping in a vast demilitarized zone it created and where the talks were held.
The rebels suggested earlier this week they would be willing to pause the peace talks during the elections if the government requested it.
After 11 months of negotiations in Havana, the Bogota government and leftist fighters have reached agreement on just one key issue -- land reform -- with progress stalled on four other agenda items, notably how the FARC will give up their weapons and enter the political process.
The FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has been fighting the state for nearly half a century and is the largest guerrilla group in Colombia with about 8,000 fighters.
Source: Agence France Presse
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