<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">
</head>
<body text="#000000" bgcolor="#FFFFFF">
<div class="container content-width3" style="--font-size:20px;">
<div class="header reader-header reader-show-element"> <a
class="domain reader-domain"
href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Minority-Faction-of-FARC-Leadership-Take-Up-Arms-20190829-0002.html">telesurenglish.net</a>
<h1 class="reader-title">Minority Faction of FARC Leadership
Take Up Arms</h1>
August 29, 2019</div>
<hr>
<div class="content">
<div class="moz-reader-content line-height4 reader-show-element">
<div id="readability-page-1" class="page">
<div>
<p>In a blow to Colombia’s peace process, a minority of
senior leaders of the FARC have announced that they are
splitting from the main organization and will be taking
up arms again. The FARC have officially condemned the
split, defending the principles of the 2016 peace
agreements.</p>
<p>Among those taking up arms is Jesus Santrich, a key
FARC leader who has been <a
href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/FARC-Stresses-Support-for-Peace-as-Santrich-Whereabouts-Unclear-20190702-0008.html"
target="_blank">missing</a> since the end of June. He
appeared publicly for the first time alongside Ivan
Marquez, another former senior FARC leader, in a video
posted to YouTube on Thursday morning, announcing a “new
stage of armed struggle.” </p>
<p>"Betrayal, perfidy, judicial persecution, political
insecurity, the murder of social leaders and
ex-combatants, has forced us to take up arms...We
announce to the world that the second Marquetalia has
begun under the protection of international law that
assists all the peoples of the world to rise up in arms
against oppression" the dissident group said in the
video. </p>
<p>The FARC have officially condemned the move, along with
all those who support peace. In a pinned tweet on their
official account, they say unequivocally “More than 90%
of former guerrillas remain committed to the peace
process”.</p>
<p>FARC lawmaker, Carlos Lozada, who is also a member of
the country’s peace commission, also condemned the
dissident split, saying “A complete and definitive peace
is the aspiration of the Colombian people, despite the
difficulties, we will not faint along that path. Those
who oppose the Agreement are wrong; as well as those who
despair and return to arms."</p>
<p>Another lawmaker, Iván Cepeda Castro, reacted saying
"The announcement that a group of members of the FARC
has takes up arms does not mean the failure of the
process or the annulment of its historical achievements.
On the contrary, this new situation calls us to
persevere with greater resolve in the construction of
total and definitive peace."</p>
<p>Former President Juan Manuel Santos, who negotiated the
peace accords, appealed for them to be upheld in
relation to the FARC, but that dissidents should be
challenged, saying “90% of the FARC is still part of the
peace process. We must continue to comply. The defectors
must be repressed with all forcefulness. The battle for
peace does not stop!</p>
<p>The 2016 agreement has come under strain as the state
and far-right paramilitaries have not complied with
their end of the accords. Over 160 FARC members and at
least 627 social activists have been killed in that
time, whereas the FARC has fully complied with
requirements to lay down arms. FARC leader Rodrigo
Londoño<a
href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/One-Sector-Blocks-Peace-in-Colombia-Ex-FARC-Guerrilla-Leader-20190730-0022.html"
target="_blank"> said</a> that it is the state which
is blocking the realisation of true peace. Londoño,
along with the majority of the FARC, however, remain
committed to peace, and condemn violations of the 2016
agreement on all sides.</p>
<p>President Ivan Duque has so far not commented. </p>
<p>Colombians defending peace have taken to social
media with the
hastags #NoALaGuerra #SeguimosPorLaPaz #ColombiaQuierePaz</p>
<div>
<div>
<blockquote>
<p dir="ltr" lang="es">"La traición,la perfidia,los
montajes judiciales,la inseguridad política,el
asesinato de líderes sociales y excombatientes nos
obligaron a tomar las armas" , aseguró <a
href="https://twitter.com/IvanMarquezFARC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@IvanMarquezFARC</a>.
Defensores de la Paz aseguran que ahora más que
nunca se necesita la implementación del Acuerdo. <a
href="https://t.co/ptzF4r4ug6">pic.twitter.com/ptzF4r4ug6</a></p>
— Paola Fernandez (@Paola_teleSUR) <a
href="https://twitter.com/Paola_teleSUR/status/1167023199227396101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August
29, 2019</a> </blockquote>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
Freedom Archives
522 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415 863.9977
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://freedomarchives.org/">https://freedomarchives.org/</a>
</div>
</body>
</html>