THURSDAY, JANUARY 17, 2013 Santos Raises Possibility of Popular Referendum on Peace Accords<http://www.panamericanpost.blogspot.com/2013/01/santos-raises-possibility-of-popular.html> Now that the Colombian government and FARC guerrillas have begun a new round<http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/01/14/Colombia-FARC-open-peace-talks-in-Cuba/UPI-87251358178250/> of peace talks in Havana, and both parties have acknowledged a desire to speed up <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21005991> their pace<http://www.elpais.com.co/elpais/colombia/noticias/nuevo-ritmo-espera-continuen-dialogos-paz-habana> and develop a final resolution to the conflict, the outline of an endgame seems to be emerging. While the FARC negotiators have called for a national assembly<http://www.eluniversal.com.co/cartagena/politica/asamblea-constituyente-no-sera-resultado-de-acuerdos-con-farc-105073> to be set up to change the constitution to reflect any eventual peace agreement, the government has rejected this demand.
El Tiempo reports<http://www.eltiempo.com/politica/ARTICULO-WEB-NEW_NOTA_INTERIOR-12520841.html> that yesterday, however, President Juan Manuel Santos announced that while constitutional reform is out of the question, he would be in favor of putting the terms of a peace treaty up for popular vote through a referendum. "It's very possible that we could find a way to seek popular approval for any accord, and that is to be discussed," the president told reporters in an address in the Norte de Santander province. The FARCs desire to solidify a peace agreement in the constitution is not without precedent. The countrys current constitution, approved in 1991, was drafted largely as a result of government talks with the demobilizing M-19 guerrilla group. This afforded the group a high political profile, making it easier for the guerrillas to transition into conventional politics. Without a constitutional assembly, the FARCs leadership may feel that the groups political demands are being minimized, and may be less inclined to demobilize. But by opening the door to a popular vote, President Santos has ensured that the rebels still have a way to coincide their demobilization with social justice reforms. He has also created an immediate incentive for the FARC to adapt themselves to democratic politics, as the guerrillas would have to make their demands acceptable to not only the government, but to the general public as well. http://www.panamericanpost.blogspot.com/2013/01/santos-raises-possibility-of-popular.html ---------------------------------------- http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/peace-talks/27734-govt-should-halt-new-bills-and-listen-to-people-farc.html Govt should halt new bills and listen to people: FARC<http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/peace-talks/27734-govt-should-halt-new-bills-and-listen-to-people-farc.html> WEDNESDAY, 16 JANUARY 2013 16:20 ROB EDMOND Tags: - Conflict <http://colombiareports.com/component/tag/conflict.html> - Farc <http://colombiareports.com/component/tag/farc.html> - Land Reform <http://colombiareports.com/component/tag/land-reform.html> - Peace Talks <http://colombiareports.com/component/tag/peace-talks.html> <http://digg.com/submit?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcolombiareports.com%2Fcolombia-news%2Fpeace-talks%2F27734-govt-should-halt-new-bills-and-listen-to-people-farc.html&title=Govt%20should%20halt%20new%20bills%20and%20listen%20to%20people:%20FARC> [image: Colombia - FARC] Colombia <http://colombiareports.com/>s largest left-wing guerrilla group FARC <http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/profiles/26260-farc.html> on Wednesday urged the countrys congress to cease passing bills related to points being discussed in peace talks, report local media. The FARC did so in a letter to Agriculture Minister Juan Camilo Restrepo in response to bills concerning agricultural policy being reviewed in congress. Agricultural reform is a hot topic around the negotiation table between the FARC and the right-wing government and is the first topic both sides wish to reach an agreement over. Newspaper El Espectador reported that<http://www.elespectador.com/noticias/paz/articulo-396892-farc-piden-gobierno-parar-proyectos-de-ley-relacionados-paz> the guerrilla group claimed that the move by the government to proceed with proposed legislation is inexplicable ( ) without hearing the views emanating from the peace table in Havana, and play deaf to the aspirations of social and political organizations in the country." The FARC also said they want Restrepo to travel to Cuba -- where the peace talks are held -- to certify whether or not the government will consider an agreement made as a result of the peace talks, as opposed to decisions made solely by the government. Speaking from Bogota<http://colombiareports.com/travel-in-colombia/bogota.html>, the agriculture minister labeled the demand inadmissible and reiterated that he defiantly will not make the trip. *The FARC went on to note that "without hearing the voice of the people, you cannot build peace." The group also expressed that the governments refusal to outlaw foreign ownership of Colombian land, something they call legal plundering, is painful.* *Nevertheless, talks to end the almost-50 year armed conflict<http://colombiareports.com/component/tag/peace-talks.html> continue.* [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Digest: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Post: <mailto:[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]> --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yahoo! 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