US may leave Colombian FARC on the list of “terrorists” by the end of the month | Conflict Issues

United States planned removal of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) terrorist group on its list of “foreign terrorist groups” could take place in late November, an unnamed US official told Reuters.

The move was first reported by US media on Tuesday, the eve of the 5th anniversary. a well-known peace treaty between Marxist terrorists and the Colombian government that ended years of violence.

The removal of the FARC from the list of “foreign terrorists” in Washington could be implemented in late November or early December, a U.S. official told Reuters.

The U.S. State Department informed Congress on Tuesday of its withdrawal from the FARC, while the Colombian government was notified Wednesday.

FARC has fought for 50 years during Colombia’s political upheaval, bombings, killings, because and an uprising in the name of redistribution for the poor in Colombia.

The group is signing peace treaty and Bogota in 2016, and in 2018 he participated in the final United Nations oversight of its available weapons. Today, it has been elected as a political party, with established seats in the Colombian parliament.

Removing the group from the US terrorist list could allow U.S. officials to work with FARC members who are now living in secrecy or politics, the U.S. official said.

He also said that US President Joe Biden’s bodyguards want to keep the anti-terrorist groups formed by former FARC terrorists and the second terrorist group that uses the FARC name in the list of “terrorist” organizations.

“It also enables us to monitor all US military equipment and the police to track down people who have not signed the agreement and to remain perpetrators of terrorism,” he said.

Despite the 2016 agreement, violence continues in several parts of Colombia where FARC opponents who had rejected the peace deal still have weapons, and also where other armed groups and drug dealers operate.

Congratulations to the people of Colombia in commemorating the five years of the Peace Treaty. Colombia has made great strides and will continue to support the establishment of the Alliance.

– Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) November 24, 2021

This week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres – on a trip to South America to mark the day of peace accords – frustration “Enemies of peace” and called for “strengthening the security of former fighters, civil society leaders and human rights activists”.

“We need to redouble our efforts to ensure the sustainability of [reintegration] jobs, and technical assistance with money, land and housing, “Guterres said Tuesday.

Former soldiers, diplomats, the Colombian government and the head of the United Nations gathered Wednesday at the headquarters of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), a tribunal set up to try the worst cases of the war that killed at least 9 million people and injured them. , kidnapping or deportation.

“We sincerely apologize to those affected by the action we took during the dispute,” he said. Rodrigo London, former FARC leader also known as former guerre Timochenko, spoke at the event in Bogota.

“Our understanding of their pain grows daily in us and fills us with sorrow and shame,” he said.

Having former FARC members on the US “terrorist” list prevented U.S. government agencies from engaging in development activities that included former war veterans, such as plans to clear land mines, or to try to smuggle illegal crops such as the coca page, said Adam Isacson from the Washington Office. Latin America, advocacy group.

Dispute groups have received a message of dismissal.

“I am very happy to see this happen, which will undoubtedly reduce the establishment of a peace agreement in Colombia,” Renata Segura, deputy director of Latin America and the Caribbean International Crisis Group, a nonprofit research group, said on Twitter. .

Colombia is facing its own crisis a time of great violence since 2016 as a result of the ongoing war between the armed forces over control of drug trafficking, illegal gold mines and human trafficking.

According to the Indepaz peacekeeping force, there are 90 militias with about 10,000 members operating in the country. Includes more than 5,000 FARC anti-peace activists, another 2,500 members a National Liberation Army (ELN) – the last terrorist group in the country, as well as another 2,500 right-wing terrorists.

Last month, the UN warned that security tensions represent a “major threat” to the 2016 peace agreements.