Nicaragua's FARC Offer
Rebuffed
MANAGUA - An offer by
Nicaraguan President
Daniel Ortega to hold
talks with Colombia's
Fuerzas Armadas
Revolucionarias de
Colombia (FARC)
guerrillas has been
rejected by the
government in Bogota.
Earlier this week the
leftist rebels issued a
statement inviting
Ortega to meet them. He
replied that he was
prepared to talk to his
"brothers".
Colombian ministers
responded angrily,
saying they would not
authorize contact
between Ortega and the
rebels.
The FARC have fought to
overthrow the government
for decades.
But their strength is
thought to be severely
depleted following a
number of recent
setbacks.
The most recent blow
came with the dramatic
release of
French-Colombian
politician Ingrid
Betancourt, who had been
their highest-profile
hostage.
Ortega, whose left-wing
Sandinista rebels fought
against the Managua
government during the
1970s, made his offer of
mediation late on
Wednesday.
"We respond to our
brothers in the FARC
that yes, we are
prepared to talk, we are
prepared to hold
dialogue, to contribute
to peace in Colombia,"
he said.
Colombia's
newly-appointed foreign
minister, Jaime
Bermudez, responded by
sending a note of
protest to Managua.
"The Colombian
government does not
authorize or endorse any
process that Ortega
expects to have in
connection with a
terrorist organization,
in this case the FARC,"
the note said.
Bermudez was reported to
be unhappy with Ortega's
use of the term
"brothers" to describe
the rebels.
The FARC, or the
Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia, was
formed in the 1960s with
the intention of
overthrowing the
government and
installing a Marxist
regime.
In the 1990s, the group
became increasingly
involved in the drug
trade and in kidnappings
to raise money.
They still hold an
estimated 700 people,
including about 25
high-profile captives
that are used as
potential bargaining
chips in dealings with
the government.
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