Colombian Government Rejects Rebels' Ceasefire Proposal

By teleSUR

19 December 14

The Colombian government rejected the FARC's proposal for a bilateral cease-fire.

espite the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia’s (FARC) unilateral decision to initiate an indefinite cease-fire during the country’s peace talks in Havana, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said Thursday that the government would not participate.

“In any case – and this needs to be clear – the government will continue complying with its constitutional duty of guaranteeing and protecting the rights of Colombians,” said Santos.

“The demand of observation of the unilateral cease-fire is a condition that the government rejects,” he added.

The FARC declared Wednesday that the unilateral cessation of hostilities, which was scheduled to begin Dec. 20, should turn into an armistice of the decades long conflict.

"This unilateral cease-fire, which we want to last, will be terminated only if it appears that our guerrilla structures have been targeted by the security forces," said FARC representatives.

They requested observation by UNASUR, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Broad Front for Peace.

When the peace talks began Nov. 19, 2012, the FARC had already announced a two-month, unilateral cease-fire in the hopes of persuading the Colombian government to agree to a bilateral trucw while talks were taking place. However, Colombian authorities rejected it.

The Colombian army has killed numerous FARC guerrilla fighters since the beginning of the peace talks, including nine more Monday.