By Richard McColl
BOGOTA, Colombia
The government here confirmed Thursday the presence of high-ranking military officials in Havana to discuss how to end a half-century-old conflict, and the issues of disarmament, bilateral cease-fire and demobilization. The officials arrived Wednesday to form a sub commission concurrent to ongoing peace talks with members of the military wing of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
“Gen. Javier Flórez Aristizábal and his team arrived in Havana to hold meetings for the next couple of days with members of the negotiating tables at which they will decide the rules, order and reach of the sub commission,” said a government press release.
The peace dialogues which began in November 2012 reconvened Feb. 2 after being paused for Christmas and New Year.
Currently the negotiations are still discussing the issue of the victims of the conflict, having already reached agreements on the issues of agrarian reform, political participation and illicit drugs.
The FARC on Wednesday proposed that a fund for victim reparations be created and consist of an annual income equivalent to 3 percent of the country’s GDP. It would be augmented by a reduction in military spending and compensation paid by the United States and international donors. FARC spokesman Carlos Antonio Lozada said this should be considered a “priority expense” and “constitutional.”
“These payments should be compensation for the impacts caused by their interventions in the armed conflict,” said Lozano, in reference to the United States. “And other companies that have been involved in the victimization or that have benefited from the sale of arms and supplying chemicals for fumigation should also contribute to the fund,” he added.
