FARC

Colombian guerrilla movement

FARC (or FARC-EP) is the abbreviation of Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia - Ejército del Pueblo. This is the name of a guerrilla organisation operating in Colombia. The group says it has Marxist- Leninist roots. When the name of the group is translated into English, it usually reads Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army.

The government of Colombia,[1] the United States,[2] Canada[3] and the European Union[4][5] have classified the organisation as a terrorist group. Other countries, such as Ecuador,[6] Brazil,[7] Argentina,[8] Chile,[9] Cuba and Venezuela do not see the group as terrorist. They instead refer to the group as “insurgents”.[source?] Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, for example, publicly rejected this classification of terrorists in January of 2008. He called on Colombia and other world governments to recognize the guerrillas as a belligerent force. Chávez said that if they were recognised that way, they would then be obliged to stop kidnappings and terror acts in order to respect the Geneva Conventions.[10][11]

The FARC was established in the 1960s as the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party. The group started as a guerrilla movement. It became involved with trading illegal drugs during the 1980s.[12] This caused an official separation from the Communist Party and the formation of a political structure it calls the Clandestine Colombian Communist Party.[source?] The FARC-EP still claims to be a guerrilla movement. According to the Colombian government, FARC has an estimated 6,000-8,000 members in 2008, down from 16,000 in 2001.[13] Other estimates are higher, including up to 18,000 guerrillas, with the FARC themselves claiming in a 2007 interview that they have not been weakened.[14] The FARC-EP is present in 15-20 percent of Colombia’s territory. Most of them are in southeastern jungles and in plains at the base of the Andes mountains.[15]

In June 2016, the FARC signed a ceasefire accord with the President of Colombia, Juan Manuel Santos in Havana. This accord was seen as a historic step to ending the war that has gone on for fifty years.[16] On 25 August 2016, the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, announced that four years of negotiation had secured a peace deal with FARC and that a national referendum would take place on 2 October.[17] The referendum failed with 50.24% voting against.[18] The Colombian government and the FARC on 24 November signed a revised peace deal,[19] which the Colombian Congress approved on 30 November.[20]

On 27 June 2017, FARC ceased to be an armed group, disarming itself and handing over its weapons to the United Nations.

References change

  1. The Democratic government of Colombia define : "All the violent groups in Colombia are Terrorists": "Presidencia de la Republica de Colombia". Archived from the original on 2009-01-08. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
  2. The United States Department of State includes the FARC-EP on its list of foreign terrorist organizations: U.S. Department of State – Comprehensive List of Terrorists and Groups Identified Under Executive Order 13224
  3. "Presidence of the Republic of Colombia – FARC, ELN and AUC in the list of terrorist groups of Canada".
  4. "European Union – FARC, ELN and AUC in the list of terrorist groups of E.U." (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-27. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
  5. Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 EUR-Lex - 32004D0306 - EN. Accessed 20 February 2008.
  6. "Ecuador ratifica FARC no son terroristas" (in Spanish). Aporre.org. 3 October 2005. Retrieved 3 October 2005.
  7. "FARC: Colombia y Brasil en desacuerdo" (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. Retrieved 20 February 2003.
  8. "Titanes en la Cumbre después de la batalla" (in Spanish). Martín Piqué, Pagina/12. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  9. "Titanes en la Cumbre después de la batalla" (in Spanish). Martín Piqué, Pagina/12. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  10. Chávez: Beligerancia a las FARC sólo bajo convenios de Ginebra
  11. "Chávez proposal about the FARC creates deep analysis in Mexican press". Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
  12. "Colombia's most powerful rebels". BBC News. 19 September 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2007.
  13. ""Colombia's rebels: A fading force?"". BBC News. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
  14. "Interview with FARC Commander Raul Reyes". Colombiajournal.org. 12 July 2007. Archived from the original on 16 July 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
  15. Leonard, Thomas M. (October 2005). Encyclopedia of The Developing World. Routledge. p. 1362. ISBN 978-1-57958-388-0.
  16. Brodinsky, Sybilla; Watts, Jonathan (23 June 2016). "Colombia and Farc rebels sign historic ceasefire deal to end 50-year conflict". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  17. "Farc peace deal: rebels and Colombian government sign accord to end war". The Guardian.
  18. "Colombia referendum: Voters reject Farc peace deal". BBC News. 3 October 2016.
  19. "Colombia signs new peace deal with Farc". BBC News. 24 November 2016.
  20. "Colombia's congress approves historic peace deal with FARC rebels". Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-12-01.