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Colombia sends second team to peace talks with rebels

05 February 2015 17:51 (UTC +04:00)

“Gen. Javier Flórez Aristizábal and his team arrived in Havana to hold meetings for the next couple of days with members of the negotiating tables at which they will decide the rules, order and reach of the sub commission,” said a government press release.

The peace dialogues which began in November 2012 reconvened Feb. 2 after being paused for Christmas and New Year.

Currently the negotiations are still discussing the issue of the victims of the conflict, having already reached agreements on the issues of agrarian reform, political participation and illicit drugs.

The FARC on Wednesday proposed that a fund for victim reparations be created and consist of an annual income equivalent to 3 percent of the country’s GDP. It would be augmented by a reduction in military spending and compensation paid by the United States and international donors. FARC spokesman Carlos Antonio Lozada said this should be considered a “priority expense” and “constitutional.”

“These payments should be compensation for the impacts caused by their interventions in the armed conflict,” said Lozano, in reference to the United States. “And other companies that have been involved in the victimization or that have benefited from the sale of arms and supplying chemicals for fumigation should also contribute to the fund,” he added.