HAVANA (Reuters) – Seeking to quell controversy back home, Colombia’s leftist FARC guerrillas yesterday advocated making public the entire 18-page agreement they reached with the government last week to end their 50-year-long war within six months.
The Colombian government and FARC have only published a two-page statement, which includes the breakthrough agreement reached in Cuba, to establish special courts to try former combatants including guerrillas, government soldiers and members of right-wing paramilitary groups.
While attempting to offer as much amnesty as possible, the courts would reduce sentences for those who admit guilt and exclude from amnesty any war crimes or crimes against humanity.
The agreement has caused consternation in Colombia, where critics complain rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, might escape punishment or extradition to the United States, where some are wanted on drug-trafficking charges.
“The agreement should be published as soon as possible in order to avoid speculation or slanted misinterpretations about it contents,” Ivan Marquez, the chief FARC negotiator, told reporters in Havana, the site of peace talks for nearly three years.