FARC
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 | change source]- ↑ 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.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ "Presidence of the Republic of Colombia – FARC, ELN and AUC in the list of terrorist groups of Canada".
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 2580/2001 EUR-Lex - 32004D0306 - EN. Accessed 20 February 2008.
- ↑ "Ecuador ratifica FARC no son terroristas" (in Spanish). Aporre.org. 3 October 2005. Retrieved 3 October 2005.
- ↑ "FARC: Colombia y Brasil en desacuerdo" (in Spanish). BBC Mundo. Retrieved 20 February 2003.
- ↑ "Titanes en la Cumbre después de la batalla" (in Spanish). Martín Piqué, Pagina/12. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
- ↑ "Titanes en la Cumbre después de la batalla" (in Spanish). Martín Piqué, Pagina/12. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
- ↑ Chávez: Beligerancia a las FARC sólo bajo convenios de Ginebra
- ↑ "Chávez proposal about the FARC creates deep analysis in Mexican press". Archived from the original on 2008-12-11. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
- ↑ "Colombia's most powerful rebels". BBC News. 19 September 2003. Retrieved 7 April 2007.
- ↑ ""Colombia's rebels: A fading force?"". BBC News. 1 February 2008. Retrieved 4 February 2008.
- ↑ "Interview with FARC Commander Raul Reyes". Colombiajournal.org. 12 July 2007. Archived from the original on 16 July 2007. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
- ↑ Leonard, Thomas M. (October 2005). Encyclopedia of The Developing World. Routledge. p. 1362. ISBN 978-1-57958-388-0.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Farc peace deal: rebels and Colombian government sign accord to end war". The Guardian.
- ↑ "Colombia referendum: Voters reject Farc peace deal". BBC News. 3 October 2016.
- ↑ "Colombia signs new peace deal with Farc". BBC News. 24 November 2016.
- ↑ "Colombia's congress approves historic peace deal with FARC rebels". Washington Post. Retrieved 2016-12-01.
