Iván Márquez, guerilla leader and member of the now defunct armed guerrilla organization Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). File photo.
This Thursday, September 15, the international press revealed that Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leader Iván Márquez is alive, and that he intends to participate in the peace talks in Colombia.
The news was reported by the High Commissioner for Peace in Colombia, Danilo Rueda, who added that Márquez authorized the General Staff of the Segunda Marquetalia, a FARC dissident group he leads, to approach the total peace policy proposed by President Gustavo Petro.
“There was a close-up revealed, but it was not ‘Iván Márquez.’ He (Márquez) is alive—ill, but healing—as reported,” said Rueda in an interview with local media.
“We can affirm that Márquez is one of the people who had sent the messages, and that there is a group of them who will directly approach exploring the possibilities of a dialogue towards peace,” said Rueda.
Likewise, Rueda also explained the process of the regional dialogues to achieve total peace that President Gustavo Petro had announced in his most recent presidential address.
In these dialogues, communities involved will prioritize issues to address with respect to their unsatisfied rights, and ideally, the agreed-upon priorities will be imposed communally. “For example, focuses could include highways, drinking water, the issue of education, or connectivity, according to the needs of each territory. This is one part of constructing a democracy,” noted Rueda.
Queremos una democracia multicolor profunda. Queremos que el dialogo social en cada territorio sea el camino de la soberanía popular y de la paz.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) September 11, 2022
“We want a deep multicolored democracy. We want social dialogue in each territory to be the path of popular sovereignty and peace,” ensured Petro in his recent address.
(RedRadioVE) by Victoria Torres with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KZ/KW
