Former Senator Piedad Cordoba said Sunday that the FARC’s recent announcement that it will halt kidnappings and release its hostages is a “breakthrough” for human rights in Colombia.
In an interview with weekly Semana, Cordoba denied that the recent announcement by FARC was a cynical ploy to continue the war but with certain rules established.
“The announcement that the FARC wants to benefit from the principle of international humanitarian law is already a breakthrough!,” she responded. “Remember, [FARC founder Manuel] Marulanda said he didn’t have to humanize the war because the FARC was going to win.”
Marulanda was the founding leader of FARC and led the group until his death in 2008.
The FARC have been fighting the Colombian government since 1964 and have been funded by drug trafficking, extortion and kidnapping. Over the past decade, the guerrilla group has been pushed away from Colombia’s major cities by Colombian security forces and right-wing paramilitary groups. However recent months have seen an increase in guerrilla activity, which some commentators have speculated is a show of force intended as a precursor to peace talks.
Veteran politician Cordoba was barred from holding public office for her alleged ties to the FARC, which she has always denied.
