On Thursday, for the first time since talks began in Havana in November 2012, a delegation of high-ranking military Colombian military officials joined ongoing peace talks between the government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—FARC).
The delegation and FARC negotiators will meet as part of the talks’ End of the Conflict Subcommittee, and are scheduled to continue talks through Saturday. On Thursday, Colombian Foreign Minister Margia Angela Holguin said, “We’re looking at it, analyzing the possibility of a bilateral cease-fire. That’s why these generals are going to that subcommittee.”
The meetings, which an anonymous spokesperson for the Colombian government called “historic,” come at a time when Colombians appear to be warming to the talks. According to a recent Gallup poll, 72 percent of Colombians are in favor of the talks and 26 percent are opposed. As recently as December, only 62 percent were reported to be in favor, while 36 percent of Colombians were opposed. The same poll found that 53 percent of Colombians believe that the talks will lead to a peace accord.
Read Rodrigo Uprimny Yepes’ and Nelso Camilo Sanchez’s roadmap to achieving reconciliation in the Fall 2014 issue of AQ.
