Former Colombia President Alvaro Uribe urged patience in peace talks with leftist FARC rebels ahead of emergency talks with President Juan Manuel Santos who indirectly gave him a three-week deadline before violence would resume.
Uribe said that Santos’ announcement of the end of a bilateral ceasefire with the guerrillas on October 31 is “very serious” and the country “understands it as a threat.”
FARC orders troops to retake positions as Santos sets end of Colombia ceasefire on October 31
In an interview with Caracol Radio, Uribe publicly asked if Santos accepted the revision of points and not just tweaks.
His compatriots are not looking to work out creative solutions, and he said they have already proposed their ideas during the ‘No’ campaign that led to the sinking of the existing peace accord.
Uribe proposes compromises with FARC already in Colombia peace deal
They will likely primarily be looking to increase impunity for crimes committed by the state and increased punishment for drug trafficking.
In order to discuss their disagreement, Santos and Uribe are meeting for the first time in six years this Wednesday in order to discuss how to resolve their differences on the accord. The conflict between the two men is personal as well as political.
Santos and Uribe to meet Wednesday in effort to save Colombia peace deal
Santos was Uribe’s handpicked successor, promising to continue the tough policies Uribe had carried out against the guerrillas to great success; but Santos went a different way, jumping at the chance to negotiate peace and be remembered as the President who ended war with the FARC.
Democratic Pole Senator Jorge Robledo said in an interview with La Semana that he does not expect them to reach an agreement today, but hopes they can make an earnest start.
The heads of the ‘No’ campaign, including Uribe, former President Andres Pastrana, and former Prosecutor General Alejandro Ordonez met early in the morning Wednesday to discuss strategy before Uribe’s meeting with Santos.
