Colombia peace talks: Farc points to 'modest progress'
- Published
Colombia's main rebel group, the Farc, says it has achieved "modest progress" in peace negotiations with the government.
As another round of talks resumed in Cuba, chief Farc negotiator Ivan Marquez said the agreements reached so far amount to a 25-page document.
They include deals on land reform, a key issue for the rebels, who began their armed struggle in the early 1960s in rural areas of Colombia.
The talks were launched in November.
Mr Marquez says that the government is responsible for "agenda changes" that have slowed down the negotiations.
"Delays have happened due to changes on the discussion topics. This is not Farc's fault and they cannot criticise us for that," Mr Marquez said.
Demobilised rebels
The peace agenda agreed by the left-wing rebels and the Colombian government has six major points: land reform, political participation, disarmament, illicit drugs, rights of the victims and peace deal implementation.
There has been partial agreement at the Havana talks only on the land reform issue.
President Juan Manuel Santos has said he wants to reach a final accord by the end of the year, with the left-wing rebels agreeing to give up their weapons in order to join the legal political process.
The government says it is ready to reintegrate thousands of demobilised Farc fighters into society.
Colombian Agency for Reintegration (ACR) director, Alejandro Eder, told the BBC the body is ready to receive up to 40,000 ex-combatants.
Five decades of armed struggle in Colombia have killed 220,000 people, according to a study by Colombia's National Centre for Historical Memory.
Hundreds of thousands have been displaced by the violence.
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