Colombia’s Farc rebels seek political rebirth

BOGOTA: Colombia’s leftist Farc rebels sought a political rebirth on Sunday as they moved to transform into a party to seek elected office after disarming to end a half-century war.

About 1,000 delegates from the freshly demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia will launch a founding congress to choose their political representatives.

They will choose a name for the party and candidates to run in next year’s general elections.

“We are going to define the character of the political party that we aspire to build,” former guerrilla commander Carlos Antonio Lozada told AFP.

He said they will also shape “its structure and name the leaders, at least at national level.”

The communist Farc formed in 1964 from a peasant uprising for rural land rights.

After 53 years of attacks and kidnappings, it faces a struggle for acceptance. Recent polls indicate that more than 80% of Colombians are opposed to it.

“The Farc will face a number of challenges. The first is not to betray their support base. The second is to enlarge their electorate,” said Conflict analyst Frederic Masse.

“The third is to show that they are capable of doing politics differently and not letting themselves get sucked into traditional patronage politics.”