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  • Colombia rebels reject peace talks

    Colombia rebels reject peace talks

    The two main rebel groups in Colombia have issued a rare joint statement ruling out peace negotiations with President Alvaro Uribe.
    The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN) accused Mr Uribe of being an enemy of peace, whose militaristic policies only created misery.

    The statement follows a recent meeting between leaders of the two guerrilla groups in the Colombian mountains.

    The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Colombia says that a union of the two rebel groups, who have waged war on the state for nearly 40 years, would make them more dangerous than ever.

    He says the rebels have been forced on the back foot recently by Mr Uribe's tough policy against insurgency, backed by more than $3bn in aid from the United States.

    Nationwide reach

    Rebel sources told the Reuters news agency that the leaders of FARC and the ELN "had agreed to unite militarily against Uribe's government. From now on they will carry out joint military operations".

    But the joint statement did not speak of an alliance as such.

    The statement signed by the leadership of both groups and posted on the internet said: "So long as the illegitimate government of Alvaro Uribe Velez persists in its fascist and militaristic policies, we will not move forward on any process of political rapprochement or national dialogue."

    Our correspondent says the two rebels groups, who both profess Marxist-Leninism, have never really got on, although in the 1980s there was an abortive attempt to work together.

    He says they could actually complement each other strategically.

    The 5,000-strong ELN has long concentrated more on political work whilst the FARC, with around 17,000 combatants, has built up an awesome military machine and together no part of Colombia would be out of their reach.

    FARC was blamed for a bomb explosion on a boat in the central town of Puerto Rico, 125 miles (200 km) southeast of Bogota on Sunday that killed at least seven people, including a baby.

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3180649.stm
    "Every man has his weakness. Mine was always just cigarettes."

  • #2
    Could the FARC duke it out with the Colombian military and win?

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    • #3
      The FARC has somewhere in the area of 7,000 to 10,000 members, with maybe 5,000 to 8,000 militarily involved,
      The Columbian army (sorry security forces) is what 120,000 strong and probably higher, If you include the AUC which is much larger than FARC, and has (albeit privately) the support of the Columbian government, FARC wouldn’t have a chance in an all out frontal attack, they are much better suited for in jungle guerrilla fighting, and I personally don’t think they actually care to run the government, they just want them out of the drug raiding business.
      Whoever is unjust let him be unjust still
      Whoever is righteous let him be righteous still
      Whoever is filthy let him be filthy still
      Listen to the words long written down
      When the man comes around- Johnny Cash

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      • #4
        As in, they'd rather be getting people high than be sitting in high places?
        Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

        Abusing Yellow is meant to be a labor of love, not something you sell to the highest bidder.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by bigross86
          As in, they'd rather be getting people high than be sitting in high places?
          somehow i missed this bigross, sorry so long to reply, but it was to funny not to.
          Whoever is unjust let him be unjust still
          Whoever is righteous let him be righteous still
          Whoever is filthy let him be filthy still
          Listen to the words long written down
          When the man comes around- Johnny Cash

          Comment

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