MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

FARC rejects peace talks and promises to fight on

Two leaders from Colombian rebel group FARC said they will continue to use violence to achieve their aims. The statement by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia commanders defies calls from presidents in the region to disarm and give up the fight.

The statement signed by Rodrigo Granda and Jesús Santrich was posted on a rebel-friendly Internet site on Sunday, "bolivarsomostodos". The site says it was written after a June 18 speech by Hugo Chávez in which the Venezuelan president urged FARC to disarm and release its hostages. The presidents of Ecuador and Bolivia and the icon of Latinamerican revolutionary movements Fidel Castro also urged the rebels to end their 40-year-old armed struggle. "It won't be us, not a thousand times, which put guns down" said the insurgents in their letter. Without mentioning any politicians by name, the commanders said they have received supportive messages from various leftist political leaders in the region, congratulating them on their efforts to fight the Colombian government, and said that others who are against them are seeking political benefits and are "opportunists". Positions against the armed fight, said the rebels, "are tricks to change the perceptions of the people". "The confrontation in Colombia will not cease as we will not put an end to the social circumstances which created it. FARC guerrillas are fighting amid the worst atrocities told to the people by the oligarchies, we will never question nor desist in the insurrection," they added. FARC is the oldest active guerrilla group in the region and has said it would keep up fighting until they achieved "a democracy with social justice." Negotiations for peace between FARC and government officials have been conducted by different Colombian governments, but guerrillas continue to fuel their military power with the profits of drug trafficking. During the current administration of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, FARC has experienced the worst setbacks in its history, after some of its main leaders were either killed or passed away, and some hostages have been released by the Colombian authorities. Last week in another message, the FARC secretariat rejected peace talks with President Uribe and requested the mediation of Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega. But Colombian authorities denied him any mediation task or initiative. Granda is said to be head of FARC international relations. He was released from a Colombian jail in 2007. Last Sunday, Colombia's Independence Day, renamed "Freedom Day" for the 2.800 captives held in secret jungle camps, Colombians rallied throughout the country and voiced growing hope for an end to the conflict. Related demonstrations were held in cities around the world including Paris, where recently-released captive Ingrid Betancourt addressed an emotional crowd ahead of a concert by the Colombian pop star Juanes. Colombians called on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and other illegal groups to stop taking hostages and enter peace talks. Late Tuesday the Colombian Army reported the arrest of "John Jairo" or "The broiler" head of finances of one of FARC columns. Allegedly he was also responsible for the forced recruiting of minors in the area of influence of his Sixth column.