Colombia’s government on Wednesday rejected a proposal by rebel group FARC to hold a constituent assembly to solidify eventual agreements on political reforms.
In an interview with newspaper El Espectador, Interior Minister Fernando Carrillo called the proposal “counterrevolutionary” and said that for the government the door to a new constitution “in principle” is closed.
Colombia’s current constitution is from 1991 and came into being after the demobilization of rebel groups like the M-19 and EPL. Members of these rebel groups took part in the construction of the country’s current constitution.
However, according to Carrillo, “if we follow that line we will reach a counterrevolutionary constituent in the sense that what we’ll achieve is revoke all we have achieved and return in time.”
The invoking of a constituent assembly is one of ten proposals for political and state reforms published by the FARC earlier Wednesday morning.
MORE: FARC wants political reform and state restructuring in peace deal
Negotiators of the FARC and government began a second cycle of talks regarding the rebels’ political participation earlier this week after successfully ending negotiations over agrarian reforms. The negotiating teams announced to be discussing the issue separately before joining each other at the peace negotiation table in Havana next week.
If successful, the peace talks will end the FARC’s nearly half-a-century long war with the Colombian state.
