OSLO, Norway: Colombia’s government and leftist FARC rebels formally launched peace talks in Norway yesterday in a process aimed at ending almost five decades of conflict that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
Oslo, and later Havana, is hosting the first direct talks between the two sides in 10 years.
The government and the rebels officially launched the negotiations in a hotel in Hurdal, a small town north of Oslo, with the heads of the delegations, Humberto de la Calle for Bogota and Ivan Marquez for the rebels, appearing on the same podium but without shaking hands.
The two sides had previously met at a secret location on Wednesday and on yesterday morning to discuss technical and logistical issues and a Colombian official told AFP the meetings had been “respectful and cordial”.
The negotiations are expected to focus on five main areas: land reform, the rebels’ future role in political life, a definitive end of hostilities, fighting the illegal drug trade and the situation of the victims.
Land reform was at the heart of a peasant uprising in the 1960s that saw the formation of FARC, and access to farmland remains an important issue in a country where half of the population lives in poverty.
The Colombian government estimates that some 600,000 people have been killed by armed groups and security forces in the country, and that 3.7 million Colombians have been displaced in the conflict.
It has voiced cautious optimism about the chances of reaching a deal with the rebels.
“We do not want to create false expectations, but we do believe there are structural elements that allow us to harbor hope that we will see good news for Colombia,” de la Calle had told AFP before leaving Bogota.
Latin America’s largest rebel group, founded in 1964 and with 9,200 armed fighters now, FARC -- the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia -- may be ready for a truce after a long string of setbacks.
Colombian government, FARC launch peace talks
