divisions erupt in farc: colombian rebels criticize their own amid … erupt in farc... ·...
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27/01/14 Divisions erupt in FARC: Colombian rebels criticize their own amid peace talks | The Raw Story
www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/24/divisions-erupt-in-farc-colombian-rebels-criticize-their-own-amid-peace-talks/ 1/4
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Divisions erupt in FARC: Colombian rebels criticize their own amid peacetalks
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27/01/14 Divisions erupt in FARC: Colombian rebels criticize their own amid peace talks | The Raw Story
www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/24/divisions-erupt-in-farc-colombian-rebels-criticize-their-own-amid-peace-talks/ 2/4
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In the latest sign of division amongst Colombia’s FARC rebels as peace talks continue, the group’s leadership made a rare condemnation of an attack by
some of its own guerrillas.
The group’s central command, in a stern message on its website, “repudiated and condemned” some fighters from within its own ranks following a car
bomb attack last week.
A civilian died and more than 20 people were injured when the bomb was detonated in front of a police station in Pradera, a town in the western Valle de
Cauca region.
“Those responsible never intended to cause injury to the non-combatant civilian population,” the FARC
secretariat said, condemning the “lack of foresight” shown in the attack.
The statement said the FARC will take “appropriate disciplinary action.”
The remarks seemed to confirm the existence of divisions within the rebellion or at least communication
issues between leaders in Havana for peace talks and those on the ground in Colombia.
“It’s the first time that they have condemned an attack. Not only did they reproach it, but they also said
that it is not the way to do war,” Conflict Analysis Research Center director Jorge Alberto Restrepo told
AFP.
The Pradera attack, he said, showed “some form of dissidence among FARC’s mobile columns,” over
which there is not “total logistical control.”
The detailed condemnation was rare for the FARC, which does not commonly admit to making mistakes in its armed struggle, part of Latin America’s
longest-standing conflict.
The message came after Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon accused the FARC of “acting like Al-
Qaeda” and President Juan Manuel Santos blasted its “irrational and contradictory way of acting.”
Santos, speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, welcomed the FARC’s mea
culpa.
“I appreciate that they have recognized being the perpetrators of this attack,” he said.
This newest development by the FARC is “a historical fact that confirms that they are fragmented,”
said political scientist and Colombian academic Jairo Libreros.
Analysts point to continued reports of civilian abductions by the group despite a pledge before peace
talks to end the practice, as further proof of divisions in its ranks.
A report by the Peace and Reconciliation Foundation, which specializes in Colombia’s conflict, said
some groups in drug-trading border areas did not observe FARC’s Christmas ceasefire.
But the FARC has denied that there are divisions within its ranks, claiming any violations of the ceasefire were in self-defense.
Ultimately, the biggest threat to the peace process, some analysts say, would be a FARC attack with a heavy civilian toll — something central leadership
may not have ordered but could not prevent.
Incidents attributed to the guerrillas include a December bomb attack that killed eight people including two civilians in the small village of Inza in
southwestern Cauca province.
More recently, in the same province, a missile destroyed a home in the Toribo area, killing a mother and her family.
Talks between the Colombian government and FARC have been underway in Havana since November 2012, with preliminary agreements reached on two
of five agenda points.
Other issues that remain unresolved are compensation for victims of the conflict and the disarming of the rebel forces.
Founded in 1964, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia is the country’s largest rebel group, with an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 fighters.
[Image via Agence France-Presse]
27/01/14 Divisions erupt in FARC: Colombian rebels criticize their own amid peace talks | The Raw Story
www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/24/divisions-erupt-in-farc-colombian-rebels-criticize-their-own-amid-peace-talks/ 3/4
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27/01/14 Divisions erupt in FARC: Colombian rebels criticize their own amid peace talks | The Raw Story
www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/01/24/divisions-erupt-in-farc-colombian-rebels-criticize-their-own-amid-peace-talks/ 4/4
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• Reply •
tomontheby • 2 days ago
Geez people, FARC is a terrorist organization that has brought nothing but misery for those caught in their "resistance". The sooner
FARC ceases to exist, the better for everyone in Columbia.
• Reply •
tomontheby • 2 days ago
Sounds like FARC is falling apart. I certainly hope so.
• Reply •
Chris Herz • 2 days ago tomontheby
As long as the USA backs repression and terror in countries like Colombia there will be resistance. That is just as natural as it
was for French or other European resistance movements to fight the last world Fascist power.
1
• Reply •
dennycrane • 2 days ago tomontheby
They have cia soldiers inside FARC that undermine the cause. Same thing happened in the days of SDS; there were people that
wanted to "bomb" things; which were plants to stir up trouble. Agnew had plants at peace marches and other protests thru out
the country. When michigan's statue of limitations ran out, it was found where one of the people in SDS,who encouraged bomb
throwing was a state cop. And like any group, you are bound to get a couple that go along with some asshole.
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