Colombia rejects UN call on Farc rebels

THE COLOMBIAN government has rejected propositions of the UN mission in Colombia to better implement the peace accords signed with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Farc.

Colombian High Commissioner for Peace Sergio Jaramillo and Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin expressed in a joint communique their “surprise” about the UN letter leaked to the local media before it was formally delivered to the two government officials.

The head of the UN mission in Colombia, Jean Arnault, expressed concerns over the process and proposed solutions, including the modification of the calendar initially set up for the Farc to hand in their weapons.

The French diplomat justified the measure alleging that the construction of camps, where the Farc have moved to and where the arms will be deposited, has been delayed until late March.

This was apparently due to logistical issues faced by the Colombian government.

A “disconnection between urban and rural areas in Colombia” was cited as the reason why authorities are taking longer than expected to set up the concentration zones for the Farc fighters and make them proper to live and sleep in.

But the two Colombian state officials said “the peace agreement never made the disarmament process depend on the state of the camps”.

About 6 900 Farc guerrillas have moved to 26 camps so far.