Peace Timeline 2013

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December 21, 2013

A Washington Post investigative report details how assistance from the United States,
especially the CIA and Joint Special Operations Command, helped Colombias armed
forces to target and kill several top FARC leaders, largely through the use of
precision-guided munitions. A FARC statement calls Colombias army a pawn in the
CIAs chess game.

December 20, 2013

The 18th round of talks between the Colombian government and the FARC, focused
on the drug policy agenda item, concludes in Havana. The parties are to meet again on
January 13. A joint communiqu indicates that the negotiators heard the views of
several drug-policy experts and civil society leaders.
Peace is possible, lets prepare for peace, says chief government negotiator
Humberto de la Calle.

December 16, 2013

Colombian government and FARC negotiators begin a brief 18th round of talks in
Havana. The subject is the agenda point of solutions to the problem of illicit drugs.
A FARC statement alleges that the governments past drug policies have done more
harm to poor communities than to the drug trade itself. Were not in Havana, the
communiqu adds, negotiating a transition to turn in weapons in exchange for some
votes.

A report from Colombias Peace and Reconciliation Foundation think-tank finds no

decrease in the frequency of FARC armed actions in 2013, and estimates the guerrilla
groups strength at 11,000 members, higher than the government estimate of 7,000
8,000.

December 15, 2013

The FARC begins its one-month unilateral cease-fire. Though the group largely
complies with it, an attack in Anor, Antioquia, attributed to the FARCs 36th Front,
injures five people on December 16.

December 12, 2013

President Santos tells a military audience to remain on the offensive until an accord is
reached, because if we let our guard down beforehand, these accords will be in
danger.

December 9, 2013

Colombias inspector general (procurador), Alejandro Ordez, orders the firing of

Bogots mayor, Gustavo Petro. The mayor, who demobilized from the M19
guerrilla movement in a 1990 peace process and was elected in 2011, is banned from
participating in politics for 15 years. Ordez, a deeply conservative official and a
vocal critic of the FARC peace talks, cites Petros handling of an effort to de-privatize
garbage collection. The firing has a cooling effect on the peace talks, as it casts doubt

on former guerrillas ability to participate in politics. The FARC issues a statement

supporting Petro and citing Ordezs move as a justification for their abandonment
of the peaceful political process.
Asked about Petros firing at his December 11 confirmation hearing, U.S.
Ambassador-Designate Kevin Whitaker says, Colombia is now committed to this
important effort to figure out how to end the internal conflict. And it isnt by accident
that the second point of discussion is about political pluralism, about how to integrate
individuals from the left in the democratic process. If these individuals come to the
conclusion, based on this fact or any other, that this space does not exist, then the
basic conditions for peace will in some ways erode.
Whitaker also sounds a word of caution about the possibility that a peace accord
might bring an end to the U.S.-backed use of aerially sprayed herbicides to eradicate
illicit crops. A matter which has come up with respect to counternarcotics is the
FARCs insistencethis is a public insistence, we dont know what theyre saying at
the tablebut publicly, theyre insisting on the elimination of the aerial eradication
program, which in our view would be a great mistake.

December 8, 2013

A day after a bomb attack on a police station leaves 9 dead in Inz, Cauca, the FARC
announces that it will carry out a unilateral one-month cease-fire starting on
December 15th. We will continue with our offensive [against the Farc], [we will] not
give them a minutes rest, says President Santos.
The 17th round of government-FARC talks concludes in Havana. The parties release
a detailed Second Joint Report from the Conversations Table, providing a rather
thorough overview of the contents of the second accord on the Political
Participation agenda item. They also produce a joint report on their efforts to
communicate with the public and encourage outside participation.

December 5, 2013

President Santos says he is more optimistic about the FARC talks than he was a year
earlier.

December 4, 2013

In a statement, the FARC renews its call for a truth commission to begin work while
talks are still proceeding.

December 3, 2013

President Santos visits U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House. President
Obama says:

I congratulated President Santos on his bold and brave efforts to bring about a lasting and
just peace inside of Colombia in his negotiations with the FARC. Obviously, this has been a
longstanding conflict within Colombia. It is not easy; there are many challenges ahead. But
the fact that he has taken this step I think is right, because it sends a signal to the people of
Colombia that it is possible to unleash the enormous potential if we can move beyond this
conflict. But obviously, there are going to be some very challenging questions moving
forward. Im pleased to see the Presidents strong commitment on that front. The United
States is supportive of those efforts.

The security assistance package was always designed to be phased out over time
based on how conditions were improving on the ground in Colombia, a senior
administration official tells reporters. And in fact, conditions have been improving
on the ground and so every year, year on year, the security assistance package is most
likely going to be declining over time."

December 2, 2013

I am still cautiously optimistic, President Santos says of the FARC talks in a speech
at the University of Miami. I believe the conditions are in place.

December 1, 2013

On the eve of President Santoss visit to Washington, Colombias new ambassador to

the United States, former peace negotiator Luis Carlos Villegas, says peace will be
an important point in the meeting between Santos and President Obama, and I hope
that the support that has been made public will be reiterated with this visit.

November 29, 2013

FARC and government negotiators issue a joint communique acknowledging receipt

of proposals from the two September public forums on the drug policy agenda
topic.

November 28, 2013

Colombian government and FARC negotiators begin a 17th round of talks in Havana.
Solution to the problem of illicit drugs is the topic on the agenda.
We want a countryside without coca, says chief government negotiator Humberto
de la Calle.

November 26, 2013

President Santos names two women to the governments negotiating team in Havana.
Mara Paulina Riveros, the director for human rights in the Interior Ministry, becomes
one of the principal five (plenipotentiary) negotiators, the first woman to hold this
post. She replaces business-sector representative Luis Carlos Villegas, who goes to
Washington to serve as Colombias ambassador to the United States. Nigeria Rentera
Lozano, the Colombian Presidencys high commissioner for womens equity, goes to
Havana as the third woman to be named to the governments team of alternate
negotiators.

I will not allow, and nobody will allow that there will be a situation in which there
are some members of the military accused and condemned to 40 years [in prison] and
the opposite side free and doing what it pleases. This is not going to happen,
President Santos says in a speech before the armed forces.
A Colombia Opina poll finds support for the FARC talks at 79 percent among the
wealthiest Colombians, and at 60 percent among the poorest.

November 25, 2013

President Santos meets with Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, who says that only
psychopaths could try to boycott a historic deed like Colombias peace process.

November 20, 2013

President Santos announces that he will seek re-election in May 2014. He cites the
peace process as a key reason: Im doing it because when you see a light at the end
of the tunnel, you dont turn back.

November 19, 2013

On the first anniversary of the official launch of peace talks with the FARC, chief
government negotiator Humberto de la Calle says, We believe the opportunity to end
the conflict is here and now.

November 17, 2013

Government and FARC negotiators announce a 10-day postponement, to November

28, of the start of the next round of talks. A joint statement says that the two sides
need extra time to refine visions, exchange documents and analyze the various
proposals received from different sectors of society.

November 12, 2013

The FARC, Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzn announces, have a plan to
assassinate ex-President lvaro Uribe and Prosecutor-General Eduardo Montealegre.
Pinzn bases his assertion on military intelligence sources. If carried out, An attempt
of this kind would destroy the viability of the peace process, lead negotiator
Humberto de la Calle says. The presidential candidate of Uribes party, Oscar Ivn
Zuluaga, calls for a suspension of peace talks. On November 18, President Santos
appears to downplay the allegation, saying the intelligence upon which it is based is
old. Chief FARC negotiator Ivn Mrquez denies that such a plot exists.
Maximum FARC leader Timolen Jimnez issues a lengthy statement blaming the
United States and Colombias elites for the countrys problems with drug production,
insisting that the FARC only collects taxes from coca growers, and indicating that the
guerrillas would be willing to consider drug legalization.
A Gallup poll finds 41.5 percent of Colombians in favor of maintaining negotiations
during the upcoming presidential election campaign, 19.1 percent favoring a pause in
talks during the campaign, and 33.9 percent calling for an end to the negotiations.

November 11, 2013

In a statement, the ELN says it agrees with the political participation agreement
arrived at by the FARC and the government, but goes on to express doubt that
Colombias ruling class will actually implement it.

November 10, 2013

I think this time we will reach an agreement, and we will have peace, President
Santos tells the Washington Post. We have never even been close to what we have
already achieved. Were trying to give our enemies, in this case the FARC, a bridge
to a dignified way outlay down their arms and enter the political arena. On the
upcoming drug policy agenda item, Santos says of the FARC, If they become our
allies in order to destroy and eradicate these coca fields and destroy the corridors, can
you imagine, not only for Colombia but for the whole world, what this means?
Asked how the FARC plan to provide reparations to their victims, negotiator and
Secretariat member Pablo Catatumbo tells El Espectador, I dont have the formula.
This is an issue that we will take up at the negotiating table in due time. The only
thing I want to say is that we are neither insensitive nor cynical about this. Asked
whether kidnappings were an error, he says, I think prolonging them over time was
an error.
A Centro Nacional de Consultora poll finds 64 percent of respondents in agreement
with President Santoss decision not to suspend peace talks during the 2014 election
campaign. 34 percent disagree. 42 percent say that the second accord, on political
participation, has given them more faith that the process might succeed; 53 percent
say this accord had no impact on their expectations.

November 7, 2013

President Santos announces that he has no intention to suspend peace talks during the
2014 election campaign.
To see the seores of terrorist groups like the FARC yesterday saying they believe in
the way of practicing politics is nothing more than the victory of Colombias heroes,
the military defeat of those organizations, says Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzn.
An Americas Barometer poll, taken in August and September, finds 53.7 percent of
respondents, and 59.1 percent of respondents in conflict zones, supporting the peace
talks with the FARC. 71 percent, and 65 percent in conflict zones, oppose allowing
the FARC to form a political party.

November 6, 2013

Negotiators in Havana complete the 16th round of talks and announce agreement on
the second agenda point, Political Participation. It includes several commitments
under the sub-headings of (1) security guarantees for those who exercise peaceful
political opposition, (2) measures to strengthen citizen participation and
accountability over politicians, and (3) reforms to ease the formation and participation
of new political movements and parties. The latter topic foresees a number of special
legislative districts representing historically conflictive areas, in which ex-guerrilla
candidates would be assumed to have some political base.
Statement from chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle
Statement from President Juan Manuel Santos
Statement from FARC negotiators
Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro congratulates President Santos.
Statement of support from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon
Statement of U.S. Rep. Jim Mcgovern (D-Massachusetts)

November 5, 2013

Colombias Congress passes the peace referendum bill making it possible for
Colombians to vote to ratify peace accords at the same time as they vote in another
election. This would all but guarantee the voter participation necessary for a
referendum to pass. The bill goes to Colombias Constitutional Court for review.

November 4, 2013

Government and FARC negotiators extend the 16th round of talks for a second time,
as they endeavor to reach a long-awaited agreement on the political participation
agenda item.

October 31, 2013

Government and FARC negotiators announce that, as they seek agreement on the
second agenda point, political participation, they are extending the 16th round of
talks in Havana, scheduled to end on November 2, until November 4.
White House Spokesman Jay Carney announces that President Obama will receive
President Santos in Washington on December 3. The visit will highlight our
longstanding partnership with Colombia and our continuing support for the Santos
administrations efforts to achieve peace and to build a more democratic society,
Carney says.
Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzn says that Colombias military, and its defense
budget, should not be reduced if a peace accord is reached. It would be a big
mistake, because even if the terrorist organization disappears, it doesnt mean many of
its crimes disappear, he tells Reuters.

October 27, 2013

The FARC frees U.S. citizen Kevin Scott Sutay, whom they had been holding since
capturing him in Guaviare department in June, to the International Committee of the
Red Cross. The United States played a decisive role in making this liberation
possible, reads a FARC statement. The U.S. Department of State releases a statement
thanking the ICRC and the governments of Colombia, Norway, and (perhaps
surprisingly) Cuba.
FARC lead negotiator Ivn Mrquez tells reporters that the amount of agreed-upon
accords so far adds up to more than 30 pages.
in a statement, the FARC calls on President Santos to moderate the language of his
speeches ordering the military to intensify its anti-guerrilla offensives.
In an interview with El Tiempo, Antonio Garca, one of five members of the ELN
Central Command, says that the guerrilla group is willing to negotiate peace, but that
the government lacks political will.

October 26, 2013

President Santos calls on the FARC to step on the gas to keep advancing toward
accords.

October 23, 2013

Government and FARC negotiators begin a 16th round of talks in Havana on the
second agenda item, political participation. According to Colombian media reports,
President Santos made clear to government negotiators that he expects this round to
end with an accord that finalizes this agenda item. We have received precise
instructions from the President, says chief government negotiator Humberto de la
Calle.

October 21, 2013

Maximum FARC leader Timolen Jimnez issues a statement attacking neoliberal

critics of the peace talks.

October 19, 2013

The FARC peace talks have advanced, but not at the speed I would have liked,
President Santos says at the Ibero-American summit in Panama City. I thought that
in one year we could have finished the agenda points we agreed upon, but that hasnt
happened.

October 13, 2013

Government and FARC negotiators end a 15th round of talks in Havana with no
agreement reached on the second agenda item, political participation.
Declaration of chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle
FARC statement on end of 15th round
The result of these negotiations is moving too slowly, President Santos says. What
was agreed was a series of points to bring the conflict to an end, and not to make a
revolution by decree, which is what the FARC are now intending.
We inform the country and the international community that the ELN delegation for
exploratory dialogues with the government remains chosen and ready, reads a
statement from the guerrilla group.

October 8, 2013

With an eye to the upcoming campaign for the May 25, 2014 presidential elections,
President Santos tells members of the La U political party that he sees three
scenarios: negotiating with the FARC during the campaign, suspending the dialogues
and restarting them after the elections, or canceling the peace process. FARC

negotiator Andres Pars says the guerrillas might be open to a suspension of the talks.
President Santos tells a gathering of victims that the talks risk losing credibility if the
FARC does not accelerate their pace.

October 7, 2013

The FARC publishes a lengthy interview with Kevin Scott Sutay, the U.S. citizen
whom they captured in June in rural Guaviare, and whom they have offered to release.
The interview appears to indicate that the guerrillas have grown fond of their captive.

October 3, 2013

Colombian government and FARC negotiators begin a 15th round of talks in Havana.

FARC negotiators release a first report on the dialogues. While more than 25
pages of partial accords have been reached, their extent is modest, the document
reads. It also states, however, We recognize the governments will to advance in the
dialogues, and we trust that solutions will be found for essential issues for rural
transformation, which remain unresolved.

October 2, 2013

Regarding his governments proposed referendum, President Santos clarifies, I

repeat, this is not the referendum of peace. That referendum has to be negotiated with
the counterpart. And were going to see if that is possible in the coming days. The law
that is being approved in Congress at this momeng is simply insurance so that if there
is a referendum, it can ensure that it take place on the same day as congressional or
presidential elections.

October 1, 2013

I think it is possible to advance toward a Colombia without coca, if there is a

willingness to substitute [the crops] and to help the farmers, says FARC commander
Pablo Catatumbo in an interview with Bogots Canal Capital, in Havana.

If I were [Venezuelan President Nicols] Maduro or one of the Castro brothers [in
Cuba], or one of the So Paulo Group, says former President lvaro Uribe, Id tell
the FARC to negotiate. Youll never in the world find anyone who will give you what
Santos is offering: impunity and political eligibility.

October 1-3, 2013

The UN Development Program and Colombias National University host a forum in

San Jos del Guaviare, in southern Colombia, to gather proposals for the peace talks
drug policy agenda item. Participants overwhelmingly call for an end to aerial
herbicide fumigation of coca.

September 30, 2013

The ELN releases a statement making clear that any negotiation with the government
will have to cover large economic, political, and social problems, and rejecting time
limits.

September 27, 2013

U.S. civil rights leader Jesse Jackson meets with FARC negotiators during a visit to
Havana. The FARC ask him for help in arranging the handover of captive U.S. citizen
Kevin Scott Sutay. Jackson indicates that he is willing to go to Colombia and help
free Sutay.

Meanwhile former Senator Piedad Crdoba, whom the FARC had requested to be on
the committee receiving Sutay and whose presence was rejected by President
Santos sent a letter to the Farc declining to participate.
President Santos rejects Jacksons participation, reiterating on Twitter his call for no
media spectacle surrounding the guerrillas promised release. Santos later calls on
the FARC to release Sutay as soon as possible, without any type of conditions,
and without all kinds of media shows.
On September 28, a FARC statement calls on President Santos to reflect and, instead
of unfairly prolonging Kevins stay in the jungle, to proceed to design with the ICRC
the security protocol that this type of case requires.
The American is free, but he cannot be retrieved, so he indeed is not free, Jackson
said on September 30. Hes no longer being held by FARC. Hes being held by a
lack of access.

There is much speculation, President Santos says. Some say: crisis in the process.
Others say that Mr. Timochenko said something, said another thing, or that the
President himself said something or said another thing. Dont pay attention to what is
said outside the [negotiating] table. The important thing is what is being negotiated at
the table. Were getting there. I wish we could go faster, but were getting there. And
were going in the right direction.
FARC leader and negotiator Pablo Catatumbo tells an interviewer that the first agenda
item, land and rural development, is not fully closed. On the issue of whether the
FARC will continue to insist on a constitutional convention, Catatumbo responds that
the FARC dont have red lines or immovable positions.

September 25, 2013

Angered by President Santoss words in New York, maximum FARC leader

Timolen Jimnez issues a letter rejecting calls to negotiate faster, and criticizing as
unilateral impositions the Legal Framework for Peace and the bill to hold a
referendum to ratify an eventual peace accord. Jimnez calls on the FARC negotiating
team to prepare a report to the Colombian people revealing what has been

happening at the dialogues. This is viewed as a call to break the guerrillas pledge to
maintain the talks confidentiality.
In a statement the next day, chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle recalls
the FARCs confidentiality pledge and says that the government will not accept any
kind of threats, but concludes that Jimnezs move is frankly incomprehensible
because the government has nothing to hide.
On September 27th, Jimnez issues another statement clarifying that the call to
produce a report was not intended to be a break with the talks confidentiality.
Venezuela and Cuba are helping us, they are saying, Get rid of warfare; today its
an anachronism,' President Santos says at a September 25 event at Harvard
University. They know that through armed struggle they will not achieve anything.
They will not achieve power.

September 24, 2013

President Santos speaks at length about the peace process in his speech before the
68th UN General Assembly in New York: We have already been talking for one year
and we have reached agreements on just one of the six items of the agenda. Im still
optimistic, but the patience of the Colombian people is not infinite. The guerrillas will
have to decide whether they opt for an honorable and long-lasting peace, or whether
they will insist on the war. From this venue, I call upon them to understand that
history has led us to this determining moment. The time for decisions has come.
On the issue of international standards for transitional justice, Santos says: And I
want to be clear: there will be NO impunity for crimes against humanity or
systematically committed war crimes. Hence, the purpose is not to sacrifice justice
to achieve peace, but how to achieve peace with maximum justice.

September 24-26, 2013

As foreseen in an August communiqu from the FARC and government negotiators,

the UN Development Program and Colombias National University host a forum in
Bogot to gather proposals for the peace talks drug policy agenda item.

September 23, 2013

President Santos meets in New York with Uruguayan President Pepe Mujica. He
thanks Mujica for offering Uruguayan territory as a possible venue for talks with the
ELN, when the moment to converse with those guerrillas arrives.

September 22, 2013

Speaking at the LaGuardia Institute in New York, President Santos refers to the
conflict with the FARC as that dead mule, that dead cow, in the road, that is blocking
our development.

September 20, 2013

In an interview with Colombias RCN Radio, President Santos says that the
governments patience has its limits, as does that of the Colombian people. And that is
what we are telling the counterpart: we cant keep slipping along here without
advancing. But we have advanced in the way the conversations are being carried out.
Asked whether an accord can be reached before March, Santos answers, I still
believe that it is possible, yes there is a will to reach some accords before the month
of March. Of the FARC, Santos says, I have more confidence in their will to make
peace. I believe that they are increasingly realizing that they have no alternative.
And logically theyre wanting to gain more space and try to win at the negotiations.
That is normal, it is a conversation between opponents.

September 19, 2013

Colombian government and FARC negotiators complete their fourteenth round of

talks in Havana, the fifth covering the second agenda item, political participation.
The parties continued moving forward on building agreements, in the drafting
commission, reads the parties joint communiqu.
We have advanced and we have important achievements, reads the government
communiqu read by chief negotiator Humberto de la Calle. But they are not
enough. We must show Colombians more results to meet their expectations.
Another thing is the [FARCs] excess of rhetoric about the most varied aspects of

national life, which have nothing to do with the agenda or with the work in Havana.
However, speaking frankly, we maintain faith in a good outcome for the process.
The FARCs communiqu criticizes the Framework for Peace constitutional reform as
an enormous impediment to peace, as the guerrillas were not consulted in drafting it
before its mid-2012 passage. The FARC also repeats its insistence on a constitutional
convention to cement in place the commitments of an eventual peace accord.

FARC communiqu reiterating rejection of Legal Framework for Peace constitutional

reform

September 18, 2013

The FARC reiterates its call for a commission to complement the work of the
governments Historical Memory Commission.

September 17, 2013

The FARC releases the ninth of ten minimal proposals for political participation.

September 16, 2013

It might be wishful thinking, but I am optimistic that we will reach an agreement

before the [May presidential] elections, President Santos says in an interview with
Bloomberg News.

September 13, 2013

I refuse to conceive of an international justice system that blocks the way of a nation
that seeks, without neglecting victims nor the right to truth, to end a half-centry
conflict, says President Santos.

September 11, 2013

The FARC releases the eighth of ten minimal proposals for political participation.

September 10, 2013

In a scathing column in the Washington daily The Hill, former President Uribe
sharply criticizes his successors effort to negotiate peace. President Santos has
welcomed the prospect of FARC becoming a political party and its members, many
responsible for crimes against humanity, participating in politics rather than serving
jail time, an idea 72 percent of Colombians oppose. Such impunity would be absurd,
as if the United States allowed al-Qaeda members to run for office.

The FARC releases the seventh of ten minimal proposals for political participation.

September 9, 2013

The Colombian government and the FARC begin a 14th round of talks in Havana.
Solutions for the poorest cannot keep being postponed, reads a FARC communiqu,
while the costs of war increase and Juan Carlos Pinzn a big talker who satanizes
protest and orders the army to smash them with blood and fire is ratified as
minister of Defense. The next day, Pinzn replies that the FARC should talk less
and dedicate themselves to advancing in the process so that they turn in their arms and
reach the peace that the Colombian people want.

Vice-President Angelino Garzn expresses high optimism about the imminence of

talks with the ELN guerrillas. It is intended to dialogue within the next few days with
the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army, at a site different from Havana. The
government has made the decision not to mix pears and apples, that the dialogues
with these guerrillas will be separate from that of the FARC.

September 8, 2013

The day before a new round of talks, lead government negotiator de la Calle says, I
believe that the moment to make decisions is coming. We believe that this is a special
moment in the phase of conversations of the government and guerrillas in Havana.

President Santos says that FARC members would be allowed to keep their weapons
until a peace agreement is ratified. According to the BBC, Mr. Santos said no one
could expect the rebels to give up their weapons before a peace accord had been given
final approval in a referendum.

September 4, 2013

Faced with the possibility that members of the Colombian Congress from several
parties might visit Havana and meet with FARC negotiators, President Santos says
that in principle, he is not opposed.
In a statement, the FARC rejects the Santos administrations proposed referendum
law as unilateral and for electoral use.

September 3, 2013

We are currently in a critical moment of negotiations, I think that in the next months
we will know if this is going to work or not because we are beginning on essential
issues, Colombian government High Commissioner for Peace Sergio Jaramillo tells a
congressional hearing. At the same hearing, chief negotiator de la Calle explains that
a referendum on peace should take place simultaneously with presidential or
congressional elections in order to guarantee the high turnout that its approval would
require. If there is not enough turnout, we might achieve an accord that could die
from the idleness of citizen participation.

September 4, 2013

An Invamer-Gallup poll [PDF] shows President Santoss approval rating tumbling to

21 percent at the end of August, from 48 percent in June. The slide owes principally
to Santoss handling of rural protests occurring at the time. A majority continues to
support peace talks. Of those polled, 57 percent say that dialogue is the best option to
end the conflict; 38 percent favor miliary action. Sixty-two percent are in favor of the
current peace process. However, only 36 percent believe that the process will lead to
the end of the conflict, and 60 percent doubt it.

National Internal Affairs chief (Procurador General) Alejandro Ordez, a

conservative critic of the peace process, criticizes the idea of a referendum to ratify an
eventual peace accord with the FARC. He says it would be an armed referendum,
with the pistol pointed at citizens temples.

September 2, 2013

In the wake of mass protests in rural areas and in Bogot, President Santos requires all
16 cabinet members to submit their resignations. Within a few days, he accepts the
resignations of five, including the ministers of interior and agriculture.
Chief government negotiator de la Calle explains the dynamic of the current
negotiating agenda topic: The simplistic focus that were in a confrontation between
a constitutional convention versus a referendum is incorrect. Were trying to work at
the table on a complex mechanism that takes up elements that may be novel, that will
allow the accords to be guaranteed, that will allow a fast means of implementation of
the accords, above all in the legal area.

August 29, 2013

Thousands of protesters expressing solidarity with Colombias striking farmers

assemble in central Bogot. Some of them clash with police and carry out acts of
vandalism. Authorities impose curfews and deploy the Army to patrol some of the
capitals neighborhoods.

August 28, 2013

Colombian government and FARC negotiators end a 13th round of talks in Havana.
We want a Colombia without coca. It would be a gigantic step for the country and
the world, says chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle. And to get the
FARC to collaborate in this purpose would be a very important element of these
conversations in Havana.
FARC statement upon conclusion of 13th round of talks
The FARC reiterates a proposal for a Commission of Review and Clarification of the
Truth of the History of the Colombian Internal Conflict.
By a 7 to 2 vote, Colombias Constitutional Court upholds nearly all of the Legal
Framework for Peace, a constitutional reform passed in June 2012. The Framework is
controversial because, as written, it holds out the possibility that an eventual enabling
law could allow amnesties for those who commit crimes against humanity. The
Courts president insists that serious war crimes will not go unpunished.

August 27, 2013

The ELN guerrillas release Jernoc Wobert, the Canadian mining company geologist
who spent seven months as a hostage.

A day later, President Santos says, The government is ready to start dialogues with
the ELN. But the newsmagazine Semana warns, As far as we can confirm, the
parties have not defined the place where preliminary conversations to discuss what to
discuss might occur (possibilities range from Costa Rica to Uruguay to Cuba to
Venezuela), and not even the composition of both delegations [of negotiators].
The FARC releases the sixth of ten minimal proposals for political participation.

August 26, 2013

Dialogues between the government and the FARC resume in Havana, three days after
the FARC called a pause. The guerrillas had placed talks on hold to express
dissatisfaction with the governments introduction, without consulting the guerrillas,
of legislation for a referendum to approve an eventual peace accord.
Both sides issue a joint communiqu announcing two public forums to gather civilsociety input on the talks fourth agenda item, drug policy. One will occur in late
September in Bogot, and the other will take place in the southern Colombian
provincial capital of San Jos del Guaviare.
The FARC publishes reflections criticizing government actions it views as
unilateral.

August 23, 2013

FARC negotiators in Havana announce a temporary pause in talks with the

government. The guerrillas say they need to analyze the legislation, introduced a
day earlier by the Santos administration, to hold a referendum to approve an eventual

peace accord. The FARC insists on a constitutional convention instead of a

referendum.

President Santos recalls the government negotiating team to Bogot to discuss the
situation.
The government continues at the dialogue table, says chief government negotiator
Humberto de la Calle. The dialogue has not been broken. It is expected that the time
the FARC will dedicate to studying this legislation will be brief in order to take up the
conversations again soon. De la Calle adds that the legislation itself would not
convene a referendum, it would merely allow one to take place concurrent with 2014
congressional or presidential elections. The eventual creation of this or any other
mechanism depends on what the delegations agree to in Havana.

August 22, 2013

President Santos sends legislation to Colombias Congress that would schedule a

referendum to approve the contents of an eventual peace agreement a mechanism
that FARC negotiators oppose. The legislation would make it possible for such a
referendum to coincide with March 2014 congressional elections or May 2014
presidential elections. If we reach agreements and reach them by the end of the year
as we all want, and dont have any way to have a referendum, it would be gravely
irresponsible to not have foreseen this possibility, the president said.
The foreign minister of Uruguay, Luis Almagro, said his government was willing to
collaborate, sometimes from humble positions, providing or exchanging information
between the parties, being a transmission belt for Colombias peace process.

August 20, 2013

In a statement, the FARC softened somewhat its position regarding its responsibility
toward the guerrillas victims. Without a doubt there has also been cruelty and pain
provoked by our forces. We must all recognize the need to take on the issue of

victims, their identity and reparation with total loyalty to the cause of peace and
reconciliation.

August 19, 2013

Government and FARC negotiators begin a 13th round of talks in Havana, Cuba.
Farmers block roads and stage protests in several parts of Colombia to protest
economic conditions and free trade policies. Over the next several days, the agrarian
strike will grow rapidly in Colombia, with frequent clashes between protestors and
riot police.

August 18, 2013

The ELN announces that it will release Jernoc Wobert, a Canadian mining company
geologist whom the guerrillas abducted in January. As a condition of Woberts
release, the ELN had demanded that his company, Braeval Mining, renounce mining
titles that the guerrillas claimed were obtained without communities approval.
Braeval announced that it would pull entirely out of Colombia and Wobert was freed.
I celebrate that ELN decision, said President Santos. This is a decision that I
consider a correct step, in the right direction, to start dialogues in order to seek peace
in this country.

August 17, 2013

President Santos inaugurates a new military high command, four days after requesting
the resignations of the chiefs of all military branches. The new armed forces chief is
Army Gen. Leonardo Barrero. Sources in Colombias Presidency tell the El Tiempo
newspaper that the new leadership is the high command for peace and the postconflict.
August is not the usual time for a change in military command. According to some
news reports, the outgoing chief of the Army, Gen. Sergio Mantilla who was likely
in line to be armed forces chief was an opponent of the Santos governments peace
negotiations. Unnamed sources told the Semana newsmagazine that in a security
meeting in [the central city of] Bucaramanga Mantilla verbally attacked the

minister of Defense, Juan Carlos Pinzn, showing a lack of respect that was the last
straw.
Some say that in our armed forces, they basically are not interested in peace, said
President Santos at the change of command ceremony. And I tell them how wrong
they are. All soldiers in the world and our soldiers here in Colombia, on land, sea, and
air, are the first ones interested in peace, because it is they who must make the effort,
who make up the victims, who make up the dead.

August 15, 2013

Speaking before Colombias governors, President Santos criticizes those who rend
their garments over the possibility that former guerrillas may someday practice
politics from within the state. But that is what peace is about, the President says.

August 14, 2013

Maximum FARC leader Timolen Jimnez releases a statement about the

difficulties the group faces at the negotiating table, as it wants more radical changes
than the government is prepared to concede.

August 13, 2013

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry visits Colombia. He voices strong support for the
peace process and indicates that the Obama administration is willing to assist the postconflict.

I was particularly pleased this morning to be able to meet with Colombias the
Government of Colombias peace negotiators and also to be able to speak with President
Santos about peace efforts. The Santos Administration has undertaken a very courageous and
very necessary and very imaginative effort to seek a political solution to one of the worlds
longest conflicts, and any negotiation that can help to strengthen Colombias democracy, that
promotes respect for rule of law and human rights, and achieves an enduring peace that the
people of Colombia can share in is a welcome development, and the United States of
America will support that peace.
I can guarantee you, having done this for these last many years, the United States is not
going to suddenly stop being engaged or walk away from this peace process. As I mentioned
in my opening comments, we are deeply supportive of what President Santos is trying to
achieve. I know this began in earnest with President Uribe a number of years ago, and for a
number of years the main focus was on security alone. But we believe, as does President
Santos, that Colombia has reached a point now where in its development, in its security, in its
trade, in its governing capacity, that it is important for them to try to look to what is
sustainable for the long term, and that means finding peace.
So the United States will support the peace process. No, there is not a specific delineated set
of figures with respect to a budget because there is not yet a specific agreement around which
to build that plan. But we will remain completely supportive of Colombias efforts to achieve

the peace. I believe its a courageous path that the President has put Colombia on, and we
will continue to support it.
As a friend of Colombia, President Obama wants the people of this country to know that
when you achieve that peace the United States of America will do everything in our power to
help respect it and to help you to be able to implement it. And obviously, at that point in time,
we will have discussions about what else may be necessary in order to guarantee its success
and sustainability over the long term.

August 10, 2013

Government and FARC negotiators complete a twelfth round of talks in Havana. We

have started to build agreements on Rights and Guarantees for exercising political
opposition in general, and in particular for the new movements that may arise after the
signature of the Final Agreement. Access to mass media, reads a joint communiqu.
Never before has anyone come this far in negotiations with the FARC, chief
government negotiator de la Calle tells reporters.
FARC statement upon closure of 12th round of talks.

August 9, 2013

The FARC releases the fifth of ten minimal proposals for political participation.

August 8, 2013

In an interview with Reuters, President Santos said that if a peace agreement is not
reached, the FARCs negotiators in Cuba would have to return to Colombia and face
the destiny of all other FARC leaders who ended up in the grave or in prison.
Guerrilla negotiator Ivn Mrquez, responded that Santoss comments were
unfortunate and did little to promote a reasonable environment for the
development and progress in working out a peace accord.

August 7, 2013

The FARC releases the fourth of ten minimal proposals for political participation.

August 6, 2013

The FARC releases a statement criticizing the Framework for Peace constitutional
reform, which was passed in June 2012 and is being reviewed by Colombias
Constitutional Court. That unilateral government initiative that the Constitutional
Court is debating today will play no positice role in the peace process to which the
FARC-EP has committed. Said FARC leader Pablo Catatumbo, Our counterpart in
the confrontation never took into account the insurgencys proposals on the issue of
legality or the parameters of the so-called transition to a post-conflict situation.

August 5, 2013

A poll commissioned by Colombias Caracol radio network, taken in five cities, finds:
47 percent in favor of a referendum to ratify peace accords, and 53 percent opposed.
31 percent in favor of a constitutional convention to ratify peace accords, and 69
percent opposed.
23 percent in favor of a deal for the FARC similar to what paramilitaries received in
the 2000s (no prison for rank-and-file fighters, and 5-to-8-year terms for top leaders),
and 77 percent opposed.

22 percent in favor of allowing top FARC leaders to participate in elections, and 78

percent opposed.
20 percent in favor of allowing the FARC to keep its weapons in a post-conflict
situation, and 80 percent opposed.
13 percent in favor of allowing suspended prison sentences for FARC leaders, and
87% opposed.
11 percent in favor of allowing automatic congressional seats, with no prison, for
FARC leaders, and 89% opposed.

In a statement referencing the recently released report of the Colombian governments

Historical Memory Commission, the FARC proposes a commission with national
and foreign members, which would study the history of the confrontation, from the
beginning of the violence, in order to prepare the materials required to complete Point
Five of the Dialogues Agenda, referring to victims.
If in November we havent finished entirely, well see where we are, and if we have
to prolong the talks a couple of months, well extend them, President Santos tells
Colombias Caracol Radio network. Deadlines in these processes are totally
counterproductive.

August 4, 2013

President Santos tells Colombias El Tiempo that his government has held preliminary
talks with with the ELN guerrillas and is very close to starting the negotiations.

August 2, 2013

The FARC releases the third of ten minimal proposals for political participation.

August 1, 2013

This issue of victims is a special point, says FARC negotiator Jess Santrich,
indicating that the guerrillas are beginning to think about their post-conflict
responsibility to their victims. Weve said that we feel all of the victims pain, all the
pains of the war that the state imposed and has degraded into terrorism. We cannot
submit ourselves to the spectacle of pragmatic pardon that many sometimes use just
to satisfy a requirement. Of course, we are going to open ourselves to the discussion,

to open our minds and hearts so that reconciliation may be without spectacle, so that
pardon isnt taken as an instrument to demonize ones contradictor.

A Uruguayan newspaper reveals that the countrys left-of center president, Pepe
Mujica, met with FARC negotiators Ivn Mrquez and Jess Santrich while on a July
24-28 visit to Cuba. The most important thing happening in Latin America is the
attempt to build peace in Colombia, says Mujica. It is one of the most important
things of the past few decades, and we must try to help to the extent that we can.

July 30, 2013

The FARC reiterates its demand that ex-Senator Piedad Crdoba be among those
present when it hands over U.S. citizen Kevin Scott Sutay, whom the group has been
holding since June. We have put the ball in the governments court, says FARC
negotiator Rodrigo Granda.

July 29, 2013

The FARC releases the second of ten minimal proposals for political participation.
After meeting with President Santos, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says, This
terrible plague that Colombia has lived with for so many years now has a very good
opportunity to come to an end.

July 28, 2013

The Colombian government and FARC guerrillas begin a twelfth round of

negotiations in Havana, Cuba.
In reference to the July 20 FARC attacks on military targets, chief government
negotiator Humberto de la Calle says, Many Colombians do not understand why we
are dialoguing while the armed groups attacks continue, adding, The guerrillas will
have to respond for everything that has occurred amid the conflict. With regard to
the FARCs demands that the government guarantee the political oppositions
security, de la Calle says that it is also up to the FARC to provide them
[guarantees].

FARC spokesman Andrs Pars says, Its worth nothing to talk in Havana about
limiting landholding if the government maintains and deepens the causes of
confrontation with its response to the peasant protests in Catatumbo and elsewhere.
FARC statement upon launch of 12th round of talks.

July 26, 2013

In a four-page letter to the president of Colombias Constitutional Court, the

prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Fatou Bensouda, warns against
approving suspended sentences for the worst violators of human rights as part of any
peace deal: I have come to the conclusion that a punishment that is grossly or
manifestly inadequate would invalidate the authenticity of the national judicial
process. The suspension of sentences would go against the ends and purposes of
the Rome Statute, given that it would impede, in practice, punishment of those who
have committed the most serious crimes.

July 25, 2013

Colombias Constitutional Court holds a 12-hour session to hear arguments for and
against the Legal Framework for Peace, a constitutional amendment approved in
mid-2012 that would set the limits of an eventual transitional justice arrangement.
Some human rights defenders criticize the measure for holding out the possibility that
military and guerrilla human rights abusers might be amnestied. In this case the cure
could end up being worse than the disease, says a principal litigator in the case,
Gustavo Galln of the Colombian Commission of Jurists. Its not about sacrificing
justice to reach peace but how to achieve peace with the most justice, responds
President Santos. The dilemma, says Rodrigo Uprimny of the think-tank DeJuSticia,
is that while a peace process that destroys victims rights isnt viable, but neither is a
conception of victims rights that makes the peace process inviable.

July 24, 2013

The Colombian governments Center for Historical Memory, an autonomous body

made up of scholars and researchers, releases Enough Already! Colombia: Memories
of War and Dignity, the product of six years of research into the causes and the extent
of Colombias conflict. At a ceremony commemorating the reports launch, President
Santos says, There is an issue here which is another of those uncomfortable truths
that are also being faced. I refer to cases of state agencies collusion with illegal
armed groups, and the security forces acts of omission at some stages of the internal
armed conflict, which the Center for Historical Memorys reports also reflect. The
state must investigate and punish this conduct in order to comply with the victims
rights to truth and justice.

July 22, 2013

The presidents of Colombia and Venezuela meet in Puerto Ayacucho, Venezuela.

Nicols Maduro pledges Venezuelas continuing support for the FARC peace process,
indicating that the late May-early June rift in bilateral relations has been patched up.
We are at your orders to contribute, even modestly, so Colombia can celebrate peace
sooner than later, Maduro said.

President Santos says he will not allow Senator Crdoba to participate in a FARC
handover of U.S. captive Kevin Scott Sutay. He demands that the release occur
quietly with no media benefit to the FARC: These gentlemen of the FARC, violating
in a flagrant way the commitment they made at the start of peace talks, are holding

hostage a North American citizen Now they want to free him amid a media show
and want the whole country and the world to thank them for their humanitarian
gesture.

July 21, 2013

In a statement, the FARCs Magdalena Medio Bloc criticizes the government

response to peasant protests in the Catatumbo region of northeastern Colombia, which
have been raging, at times with violence, for over six weeks. The statement
controversially offers our arms and our combatants in support of the protesters.

July 20, 2013

On Colombias Independence Day, the FARC carries out its largest attack on a
military target of the entire peace process period. Fifteen members of an army column
protecting an oil pipeline in Fortul, Arauca, are killed in a guerrilla attack. Some of
those killed, according to witnesses, were disarmed and defenseless. Elsewhere, in
Doncello, Caquet, a FARC attack kills four more soldiers. I have instructed our
forces not to stop shooting until the conflict is over, says President Santos.

The peace process is a principal theme of President Santoss speech before the
opening of a new session of Colombias Congress. He uses the word peace 33
times.

July 19, 2013

In a statement, the FARC Secretariat announces that the group is holding a U.S.
citizen. Kevin Scott Sutay, a U.S. military veteran who sought to walk for 300 miles
through Colombias southern jungles, fell into FARC hands in June. The guerrillas
announced their intention to free Sutay as a goodwill gesture, to a commission made
up of the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Vatican SantEgidio
Community, and former Senator Piedad Crdoba.

July 18, 2013

The Colombian government and FARC announce a six-day delay, from July 22 to
July 28, in the start of the twelfth round of negotiations.
On a visit to Bogot, Argentine President Cristina Fernndez congratulates President
Santos for pursuing peace. Only idiots, those who do not love their country, can
apply barriers or be against Colombia being one Colombia for all Colombians, she
said.

July 15, 2013

We are certain that the five-decade long Colombian armed conflict is nearing an
end, FARC negotiator Ivn Mrquez tells Colombias RCN television. It is possible
[to reach an agreement by November]. But to achieve peace you need time. A bad
peace deal is worse than war.
In an open letter to the Episcopal Conference of Colombias Catholic Church, the
ELN expresses disagreement with the bishops call on the guerrilla group to disarm as
a precondition for starting negotiations.

July 11, 2013

In letters to President Santos and the Colombians for Peace civil-society group, the
ELN reiterates its refusal to release Canadian mining company manager Jernoc
Wobert, whom the group kidnapped from the northern department of Bolvar in
January. The ELN continues to insist that Woberts company first renounce four
mining titles that the guerrillas claim were obtained illegally.

July 9, 2013

The eleventh round of FARC-government talks ends in Havana. The joint

communiqu offers no sign of agreement, or even notable progress, on the political
participation agenda item. Each side presented its general vision on political
participation, beginning with the issue of security guarantees for the opposition, as an
essential element to build a final accord, it reads. We have had a very rich
discussion, FARC negotiator Ivn Mrquez tells reporters.

In a statement, the FARC repeats its insistence on a constitutional convention

following a peace accord, saying that the holding of an assembly to rewrite
Colombias constitution is the key to peace. The Colombian government, which
strongly opposes a constitutional convention, issues no statement. Inspector-General
(Procurador) Alejandro Ordez, a conservative figure who heads a branch of
government separate from the executive, recommends that the Colombian government
get up from the negotiating table if the FARC should continue to insist on a
constitutional convention.
The State Council, Colombias top administrative tribunal, reinstates the legal status
of the Patriotic Union party. Founded during a failed mid-1980s peace process and at
least initially linked to the FARC, the Patriotic Union saw about 3,000 of its
members, candidates, and officeholders murdered in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The party lost its legal charter when it failed to present candidates in the 2002
elections. The State Council ruled that this should not have happened because the
party had been illegally forced to the margins by violence.

July 8, 2013

At a conference of his Democratic Center political party, former President lvaro

Uribe, a fierce critic of the FARC peace talks, appears to soften his position slightly.
If one of our party arrives in the Presidency [in 2014] and things with the FARC are
the way they are now, what to do? My respectful suggestion is not to talk about
canceling the process, but about a conditional suspension of the dialogues until there
is a cessation of criminal activities.
In a letter to President Santos, maximum FARC leader Timolen Jimnez says
Colombian democracy is an embarrassment; we are going to change it.

July 7, 2013

FARC negotiator Andrs Pars appears to show new flexibility on the guerrillas
demand for a constitutional convention following a peace accord. He tells Colombias
Caracol news network, Neither this point nor any other has to become an unmovable
obstacle that impedes the progress of the process. Pars said that a constitutional
convention is not the only way to legalize the peace process, according to Medellns
El Colombiano newspaper.
Pars also argues that Colombias army should be reduced after a peace accord. The
state should have a proposal ready regarding the arms of the 500,000 men who wont
need them in a country that is living in peace. Objectively, if there is no conflict why
would such a large army be needed?
A weeks-old protest begun by small farmers escalates into violent incidents in the
Catatumbo region of Norte de Santander department, in northeastern Colombia near
the Venezuelan border. The thousands of protesters are demanding an end to aerial
herbicide fumigation in coca-growing areas, the establishment of a peasant reserve
zone to limit the size of landholdings, and more state services. Some Colombian
government officials, like Interior Minister Fernando Carrillo, accuse the FARC and
other armed groups of seeking to influence the process in Havana, and that is
something we are not going to permit. In a July 8 statement, the FARC negotiators in
Havana express support for the Catatumbo protesters and deny that they have
infiltrated them.

July 4, 2013

In Fortul, Arauca department, the ELN releases to a humanitarian commission an

army corporal, Carlos Fabin Huertas, whom it had captured in mid-May. President
Santos calls the release a gesture in the right direction. The guerrilla group
continues to hold a Canadian mining company employee kidnapped in Bolvar in

January.

July 3, 2013

If there is sufficient political will, we can achieve an agreement by the end of the
year as long as there is a wish to advance, President Santos says while on a visit
to Geneva.

July 1, 2013

An eleventh round of talks between the government and the FARC begins in Havana.
Negotiators return to the second agenda topic, political participation.
Lead government negotiator De la Calle reiterates that the government refuses to
discuss topics that are not on the negotiating agenda.
The FARC and ELN release two joint communiqus indicating that the guerrilla
groups top leaders held a summit somewhere in Colombia. At this meeting, these
statements report, the two groups agreed to put behind past disputes and work for
unity of all political and social forces working to carry out profound changes in
society. The groups say that a political solution to the social and armed conflict is
part of their strategic horizon. The ELN appears to endorse the FARCs call for a

constitutional convention.

Speaking to reporters in Havana, FARC negotiator Pablo Catatumbo says, We will

do everything we can so that talks between our sister organization and the government
begin.

June 27, 2013

We will keep supporting [the peace talks] in any way that we can be of use, says the
foreign minister of Chile, Alfredo Moreno, during a meeting with Colombian Foreign
Minister Holgun.

June 23, 2013

Speaking before a march of conflict victims at El Carmen, Bolvar department,

President Santos addresses the FARC. Keep your word! Negotiate over those [agreed
agenda] points, play clean, dont start asking for the impossible, dont start asking for
things that nobody is going to concede, things that arent in the accords. Santos
continues, Now we see that maybe they wont turn in their weapons. One of the
agenda points is precisely that they turn in their weapons because if not, why are we
talking? The President concludes reminding the FARC that the Colombian peoples

patience is not unlimited.

It would be a historic crime to deny Colombia the opportunity to reconcile, says

Roy Chaderton, Venezuelas envoy to the peace talks.

June 21, 2013

Just 3 days after the negotiating teams end their separate consultations and begin
meeting together, the 10th round of dialogues come to a close.
The government and FARC issue a joint communiqu indicating that they have
stated their general view of the topic of political participation.
They also release a 2,400-word report on the dialogues activities so far.

June 19, 2013

The FARC releases a document laying out 10 minimal proposals for the political
participation agenda topic. These include a restructuring of the state and a
constitutional convention. The guerrillas propose to do away with the presidential
system, change the House of Representatives into a territorial body, restructure the
armed forces, and much else. Luis Eduardo Garzn, the Colombian governments
presidential advisor for social dialogue, tells El Tiempo that the document is positive
because it shows that the FARC today is more on the offensive politically than
militarily, and that is very positive for the search for peace.

June 16, 2013

Lead government negotiator De la Calle publishes a column in Colombias mostcirculated newsmagazine, Semana, laying out the governments case against the
FARCs proposal for a constitutional convention. This is neither the optimal

mechanism, nor the most practical, as it is more burdensome than other tools and

doesnt produce the desired effects.

In an interview published in the same issue of Semana, FARC negotiator Andrs Pars
insists on the constitutional convention as the key to peace.
Interviewed in Calis El Pas newspaper, Paris signals the FARCs reluctance to
disarm immediately after an accord is signed. [We are interested in following] the
Irish model because principles were established and, for example, they did not turn in
weapons. Pars adds that the guerrillas have repeatedly told the government that
they will never have a photo of a ceremony in which guerrillas symbolically turn in
weapons.

June 12, 2013

Venezuelas envoy to the peace talks, OAS Ambassador Roy Chaderton, returns to
Havana after being called back to Caracas for consultations. The FARC posts an

account and photo of Chadertons meeting with the guerrilla negotiators.

June 11, 2013

A tenth round of FARC-government talks begins in Havana. The new agenda topic is
political participation: the guerrillas eventual transformation into a political party,
security and access guarantees for the political opposition, electoral rules and similar
issues. As difficult as the land and rural development agenda topic was, notes
Colombias Semana newsmagazine, the political participation issue may be even
thornier. The two negotiating parties agree to spend the first week working
separately.

In a statement, the FARC proposes delaying for one year Colombias March 2014
legislative elections and May 2014 presidential election. The guerrillas make this
proposal as part of a larger call for a constitutional convention in which elected
representatives rewrite Colombias constitution. Lead government negotiator De la
Calle rejects both proposals: That [the election delay] wont happen, a constitutional
convention wont happen.

June 7, 2013

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed his enormous respect for the peace
process in Colombia and highlighted the advances of the country, the work and
leadership of President Santos to achieve a much safer and prosperous country,
according to a Colombian Foreign Ministry readout of a meeting, at the OAS General
Assembly in Guatemala, between Kerry and Colombian Foreign Minister Mara
ngela Holgun.

According to a FARC statement, the dialogues are in limbo because of troubled

Colombia-Venezuela relations following President Santoss May 29 meeting in
Bogot with the leader of Venezuelas political opposition.

June 6, 2013

UK Prime Minister David Cameron expressed great support for the peace process
and said that we must persevere, because it is not easy, said President Santos after
meeting with Cameron in London. I congratulated the President on progress in the
peace talks with the FARC and looked forward to seeing more progress on this, and
on human rights concerns, in the future, read a statement from UK Foreign Minister
William Hague.

June 4, 2013

In a sign that tensions with Colombia are diminishing, Venezuelan Foreign Minister
Elas Jaua says, The Colombian armed conflict remains, and we are dedicated,
beyond our differences, beyond the current conjuncture, to bring the eradication of
this last focus of violence.

June 2, 2013

Referring to a threat, attributed to the FARC, received by leaders of Colombias

politically moderate CGT trade union, President Santos says If that turns out to be
true and they carry it out, it could endanger the peace process because it would be
absolutely unacceptable. The FARC deny issuing the threat, saying it is a setup by
figures on Colombias right wing.

May 29, 2013

President Santos agrees to meet in Bogot with the head of Venezuelas political
opposition, Henrique Capriles, who narrowly lost Venezuelas April 14 presidential
elections and refuses to recognize the victory of President Nicols Maduro. The
Maduro government responds angrily. I made efforts with the Colombian guerrillas
to achieve peace in Colombia. Now theyre going to pay us like this, with betrayal,
Maduro says. Venezuela recalls its envoy to the talks for consultations in Caracas.
FARC negotiators declare themselves to be worried, very worried. By the first week
of June, tensions seem to be diminishing.

May 28, 2013

U.S. State Department Acting Deputy Spokesperson Patrick Ventrell says, The
agreement on land reform is the first ever between the Colombian Government and
the FARC, and as such the terms of its and in terms of its substance its a highly
positive step forward in the peace negotiation. So weve long given our strong support
for President Santos and the Colombian Government as they pursue lasting peace and
security that the Colombian people deserve.

May 27, 2013

U.S. Vice-President Joe Biden, on a May 26-27 visit to Colombia, praises the land
accord and the FARC-government process, which he calls serious and well
designed. Biden added in a joint appearance with President Santos, Just as we
supported Colombias leaders on the battlefield, we support them fully at the
negotiating table.

U.S. Ambassador to Colombia Peter Michael McKinley calls the accord an advance
that encourages the possibility that these negotiations are going to end the conflict in
Colombia.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon welcomed the agreement: This is a significant
achievement and an important step forward, read a statement from his spokesman.
This is a positive step in the process to achieve peace in Colombia, says OAS
Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza.
Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro calls the FARC-government land agreement
historic and the best peace message that the Bolivarian peoples could receive.
The government of Chile says it constitutes a very relevant achievement, which has
required flexibility and moderation from both sides.
European Union High Representative Catherine Ashton expressed hopes that this
crucial, albeit partial, agreement will add fresh impetus to the Havana negotiations,
with a view to the rapid conclusion of a final peace agreement.
Terrorist Farc kills our soldiers and policemen and the Santos government rewards
them with a land agreement, tweets former president Alvaro Uribe.

May 26, 2013

At the conclusion of the ninth round of talks, the Colombian government and FARC
guerrillas make a weighty announcement: that they have reached agreement on land
and rural development, the first of five points on the negotiating agenda. This is the
first time the government and FARC have agreed on a substantive topic in four
different negotiating attempts over the previous 30 years. While the agreements text
remains secret under the principle that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed,

the two sides joint statement (English Spanish) indicates that it covers the
following:
Land access and use. Unproductive lands. Formalization of property. Agricultural
frontier and protection of reserve zones.
Development programs with a territorial focus.
Infrastructure and land improvements.
Social development: health, education, housing, eradication of poverty.
Stimulus for agrarian production and a solidarity-based, cooperative economy.
Technical assistance. Subsidies. Credit. Income generation. Labor formalization.
Food and nutrition policies.
Declaration of lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle

May 25, 2013

In an interview with Semana magazine journalist Mara Jimena Duzn, FARC

Secretariat member and negotiator Pablo Catatumbo repeats that the guerrillas dont
want an express process.'

May 19, 2013

In an op-ed in Colombias El Tiempo newspaper, lead government negotiator

Humberto de la Calle discusses transitional justice. Instead of being a toad we must
swallow by leaving past abuses unpunished, he writes, transitional justice extends
to recognition of victims, reconciliation, and reinforcement of justice and the rule of
law.

May 15, 2013

A ninth round of FARC-government talks begins in Havana.

A FARC statement says the group has full expectation and desire to take up the
second [agenda] point very soon, but goes on to voice concerns about land tenure
and rural development, the first topic.

Asked about the peace process while on a visit to Cartagena, former U.S. President
Bill Clinton says, The risk of failure is not an argument for not trying. It is preferable
to try and fail than not to try for fear of failure.

May 14, 2013

President Santos defends the decision to keep secret the text of partial, draft peace
accords: partial accords can easily be manipulated or wrongly interpreted to poison
the process. He repeats the oft-used phrase, Nothing is agreed until everything is
agreed.

May 13, 2013

In Rome, President Santos discusses the peace process with Pope Francis, who offers
expressions of support.
Santos tells a Vatican newspaper that Colombians are not totally optimistic about
the FARC talks, but that a moderate optimism exists.

May 10, 2013

On a visit to Colombia, German President Joachim Gack says that his government is
content with the steps achieved so far in the peace process.

May 9, 2013

Today, Colombias pursuing a historic peace effort with the FARC, says U.S. VicePresident Joe Biden, announcing that he will visit Colombia at the end of the month.
And just as we have supported Colombias leaders in the battlefield, well fully
support their efforts to end the conflict at the negotiating table.
Before a military audience, President Santos reiterates that the future of Colombias
armed forces is not up for discussion at the Havana dialogues. He adds that if a
transitional justice mechanism offers leniency to FARC human rights violators, it will
offer something similar to military human rights violators.
If the ELN wishes to begin talks, Santos adds, the guerrilla group has to free its
kidnap victims, above all the Canadian [mining company employee Jernoc Wobert] it
is holding. On May 8, the ELN said it would not release Wobert, in captivity since
January 18, until his company cedes mining rights to local communities in Bolvar
department.
In a speech (Spanish)(English) at Bogots Universidad Externado, High
Commissioner for Peace Sergio Jaramillo portrays an eventual peace accord not as the
end of a peace process, but as the beginning of a larger, rather ambitious transition in
Colombias historically conflictive territories. He defends the idea of a transitional
justice framework that allows some impunity for past human rights abuses, as long as
victims needs are met.
At the same Bogot university event, the heads of two branches of Colombias
government debate the question of impunity in a future transitional justice process.
Prosecutor-General Eduadro Montealegre defends the peace framework law passed in
mid-2012, which holds out the possibility of amnesty for all but the most serious

human rights violators. Montealegre proposes that those accused of crimes against
humanity be banned from politics, though they may receive suspended sentences.
Inspector-General Alejandro Ordez challenges the validity of the framework law,
opposing an arrangement that allows FARC rights violators to stay out of prison.
Ordoez holds out the possibility that extrajudicial executions committed by the

armed forces might not count as crimes against humanity.

Interior Minister Fernando Carrillo predicts that the FARC and government will sign
an accord in November or December. Senate President Roy Barreras says Colombia
should prepare for a longer peace process than has previously been announced.

May 8, 2013

Fifty-six U.S. and Colombian faith leaders sign two letters to President Obama,
Secretary of State Kerry, and President Santos supporting the peace process and
calling for a U.S. policy that prioritizes peace and human rights in Colombia.
A poll from the Centro Nacional de Consultora finds 69 percent of Colombian
respondents supporting the dialogues with the FARC. This is two percentage points
higher than the same poll found in April. An Invamer Gallup poll taken in late April
found support for the dialogues at 67 percent, up five points from February. The
polling firm attributed the peace talks as a key reason why President Santoss
popularity rose to 47 percent, from 44 percent in February.

May 6, 2013

The Peace Committee of Colombias Congress launches its second round of Regional
Peace Tables, a series of 11 meetings with civil-society representatives in several
zones of Colombia. The topic is victims rights and participation.

May 3, 2013

FARC and Colombian government negotiators in Havana conclude their eighth round
of talks. Their joint communiqu indicates that they have a draft agreement on the
first agenda item, land tenure and rural development.
The pace of the conversations has been insufficient, inconstant, lead government
negotiator De la Calle tells reporters. We could have progressed much more. Lead
FARC negotiator Ivn Mrquez says, Were advancing. The peace delegation of the
FARC feels satisfied with the gains we are making.
In a statement, the FARC react angrily to the idea of having to apologize for abuses
that guerrillas have committed. The guerrillas reject the idea of facing Colombian
justice after a peace process concludes: The assassins and their tribunals have no
moral authority to judge us, it reads.

May 2, 2013

At the conclusion of a lengthy visit to the United States, Defense Minister Pinzn says
that in my Washington meetings I have found a desire to support President Santoss
process and a will to strengthen the armed forces to accelerate it.

April 29, 2013

On a visit to Bogot, the administrator of the U.S. Agency for International

Development (USAID), Rajiv Shah, says, On behalf of the United States and of
President Obama, we want to reaffirm our commitment for economic support, and to
be one of the principal allies for Colombia in its peace process. As we discussed
with the President [Santos], in the government of the United States we are very
optimistic that the process is going to be very fruitful, and we are going to continue
lending our support. We are going to respond to all requests that President Santos
makes to help and develop this process. Shah also gives an interview to Colombias
Semana magazine.

April 28-30, 2013

Colombias National University and the UN Development Program host a public

forum in Bogot on the topic of the FARC-government dialogues second agenda
item, political participation. 1,265 participants present about 400 proposals for the
negotiating teams consideration. Topics include electoral reforms, guarantees for
opposition parties security, womens participation in politics, and similar issues.
Everything is possible once peace is signed, the president of Uruguay, Jos Mujica,
says to the forum participants in a recorded video message.
Declaration of lead Colombian government negotiator Humberto de la Calle

Declaration of FARC negotiating team

April 28, 2013

FARC negotiator Andrs Paris tells reporters that a peace accord could bring an
eventual drastic reduction of the official military forces of Colombia, adding that this
is an issue that we will surely bring up in the peace talks.

April 24, 2013

Colombias human rights record comes under scrutiny at a Universal Periodic Review
of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Participating countries praise the
Colombian governments decision to seek to end the conflict through negotiations.
April 30 FARC negotiating team declaration about Universal Periodic Review
FARC issues a document entitled Four Minimal Proposals for Reform of the State
and Democratic and Participative Institutionality.

April 23, 2013

An eighth round of talks between FARC and Colombian government negotiators

begins in Havana.
We want results. That is the instruction that we have received from President
Santos, says lead government negotiator Humberto de la Calle. This is a process
that cannot be prolonged indefinitely.

Statement from FARC negotiators

April 22, 2013

Colombias La FM radio network reports that the Colombian government may launch
dialogues with the ELN guerrillas during the second week of May.
An Ipsos Napolen Franco poll commissioned by several prominent Colombian news
outlets finds 63 percent of Colombians favoring the peace process, up from 57 percent
in November. 37 percent disapprove. 52 percent still believe that the process wont
succeed, while 45 believe that an accord and a demobilization from the FARC will
result. 69 percent oppose an arrangement in which FARC do not go to prison. 67

percent oppose allowing the FARC to participate in politics after a peace accord.
Pro-peace organizations from around Colombia meet in Bogot for a Congress of the
People. They call for a new social movement within which civil-society
organizations develop a peace agenda.
FARC message to Congress of the People

ELN video message to Congress of the People

April 21, 2013

President Santos issues, then quickly withdraws, a proposal to run for a second term
of only two years (instead of four) to allow his government to complete peace talks
and begin the post-conflict phase. FARC negotiator Pablo Catatumbo criticizes the
episode as leaving a flavor of improvisation.

April 19, 2013

The Episcopal Peace Council of the Colombian Catholic Church Episcopal

Conference issues a statement (PDF) in support of the peace dialogues with the FARC
and possible future talks with the ELN.

April 18, 2013

62 members of the U.S. House of Representatives send a letter to Secretary of State

John Kerry expressing support for the Colombian governments peace talks with the
FARC, urging a greater role for victims, and encouraging the U.S. government to take
steps to support the talks and a possible post-conflict transition.
April 25 letter from FARC negotiators to the congressional letters signers. This letter
is the first time that the FARC mention the possibility of a truth commission to
investigate human rights abuses, including their own kidnapping, forced
disappearance, recruitment, use of explosives of all kinds.
A joint communiqu announces that the next round of government-FARC dialogues
will begin on April 23.

April 9, 2013

Pro-peace and victims groups, the Marcha Patritica political movement, and the
mayor of Bogot convene a large march in Bogot in support of the peace process.
Estimates of participants range from 200,000 to over a million.

President Santos speaks before a military audience and then joins the marchers. We
are not going to diminish the presence of our forces in any corner of our territory
after a peace accord, Santos assures the officers in attendance. To the contrary, we
will need more presence.

FARC negotiators issue a declaration in support of the march.

The FARCs Southern Bloc, which some Colombian analysts speculated was perhaps
the guerrilla unit most reluctant to negotiate peace, issues a statement denying that
any divisions exist within the FARC, and affirming that it will comply with the
letter of any accords that are signed.

April 8, 2013

Two more FARC negotiators (Laura Villa and Sergio Ibez) arrive in Havana after
being extracted from a zone in Meta department, in south-central Colombia. This
required a temporary suspension of Colombian military activity in this zone.
Before the pickup is to happen, former President lvaro Uribe, a constant critic of the
peace talks, posts the coordinates of the zone to his Twitter account. It is believed that
this information, known only to a small number of officials, was leaked to Uribe by a
member of Colombias armed forces. This individual remains unidentified.
Speech given by President Santos on the National Day of Memory and Solidarity with
Victims of the Armed Conflict

April 7, 2013

Pablo Catatumbo, chief of the FARCs Alfonso Cano (Western) Bloc, arrives in
Havana to join the guerrillas negotiating team. He is the second member of the
groups seven-person Secretariat, in addition to Ivn Mrquez, among the negotiators.
Analysts speculate that Catatumbos addition to the negotiating team may speed the
FARCs decision-making, and may reflect a decision to give greater representation to
the guerrilla groups field commanders. Several other members of the guerrilla
negotiators support team (Victoria Sandino Palmera, Freddy Gonzlez, Lucas
Carvajal, and others) travel to Cuba as part of the same operation, which required a
temporary military pullout from two zones.
Declaration of support for the peace process from mayors of the capital cities of
Colombias departments

April 5, 2013

A letter from Colombias departmental governors calls the Havana talks an

opportunity toward peace and calls on Colombians to participate constructively so
that the Havana dialogues advance and conclude successfully.

April 2, 2013

We havent fought our entire lives for peace with social justice and the dignity of
Colombians only to end up locked up in the victimizers jails, says lead FARC
negotiator Ivn Mrquez.

March 31, 2013

In a statement, the FARC denies that recently seized drug shipments belong to the
guerrilla group, nor are we narcotraffickers.

March 30, 2013

Government and FARC negotiators announce that the beginning of the next round of
talks, scheduled for April 2, is postponed until the third week of April.

March 25, 2013

We will do everything we have to do, and beyond, to help Colombia to a process of

peace, of reconciliation, says Nicols Maduro, Venezuelas acting president and
ruling-party candidate for April 14 presidential elections.
For us, the peace dialogues in Colombia are fundamental because they present us
with new potential scenarios, for which we must be prepared, says Ecuadors defense
minister, Mara Fernanda Espinosa.

March 24, 2013

The Colombian daily El Espectador publishes an interview with Nicols Rodrguez

Bautista, maximum leader of the ELN guerrilla group. A process is going forward
between the *compaeros of the FARC and the government, and were not even in
exploratory dialogues, so it is not possible to talk about a single table. We are willing
to accept that reality of two separate tables, valuing the importance of converging
down the road.

March 23, 2013

In a video directed to a gathering of Campesino Reserve Zone representatives in

southern Colombia, chief FARC negotiator Ivn Mrquez says, We add ourselves to
the chorus that demands the formalization of the 9.5 million hectares of land that
comprise the new processes of formation of Campesino Reserve Zones.

March 21, 2013

The seventh round of dialogues concludes in Havana.

Given the advanced stage of discussions of the first agenda point (land tenue and rural
development), the joint declaration reads, the delegations asked the UN office in
Colombia and the National University Center of Thought for Peace to begin preparing
a new public forum about the next point on the agenda, political participation, to be
carried out at the end of next month.
We continue to advance in the construction of accords within the first agenda point,
although there are still several disagreements remaining, says chief government
negotiator Humberto de la Calle.

According to media reports, one of the principal areas of disagreement is the future
extent of Campesino Reserve Zones, areas where landholdings are limited in size
and cannot easily be bought or sold, and where residents seek a degree of
administrative autonomy. Six such zones legally exist in Colombia, covering 831,000
hectares of land. In the negotiations, the FARC are reportedly seeking 9.5 million
hectares of campesino reserve zones. (Colombias entire land area is 113 million
hectares.)

March 19, 2013

If peace is achieved, this country has no limits, says U.S. Ambassador Peter
Michael McKinley. The fact is, the U.S. government supports every effort to
negotiate an end to the Colombian internal conflict.

March 17, 2013

An operation in Cauca department dismantles what Colombias army calls one of the
FARCs principal cocaine processing centers. FARC negotiator Rodrigo Granda
denies that the site belonged to the guerrillas. Those are inventions. We are a serious,
responsible political-military organization. We arent a cartel of narcotraffickers.
Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzn responds, It is ridiculous to doubt
that the FARC are narcotraffickers. On March 19, lead FARC negotiator Ivn
Mrquez calls Pinzn a sharpshooter against peace efforts.

March 15, 2013

He told us that there are already accords, including some signed, which means that
the process is going very positively, construction executive Pedro Gmez tells
reporters following a meeting between President Santos and business leaders.

At an event hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington, Colombian

Congressman Ivn Cepeda part of the group of legislators that visited Havana on
March 3 conveyed a sense of optimism that the negotiators had reached
preliminary agreement on agrarian development policythe first and largest point of
the six-point agenda under discussionand were preparing to move on to the next
agenda itempolitical participation.

March 13, 2013

Lead FARC negotiator Ivn Mrquez tells reporters that the guerrillas will do
everything possible to reach a peace accord before the end of the year.
I believe that if the pace of the last few weeks is maintained, and thats what the
negotiators tell me, it is perfectly possible to finish the work in months, says
President Santos.

March 11, 2013

The seventh round of peace talks between FARC and government negotiators begins
in Havana.

March 6, 2013

Several national organizations of conflict victims present a document to the peace

dialogues, to achieve an express commitment, both from the state and from the armed
opposition groups, to take actions for truth, justice, reparations and non-repetition
guarantees for serious human rights violations, crimes against humanity, genocide and
war crimes that for decades have beaten down millions and millions of Colombians.

March 5, 2013

The death of Venezuelan President Hugo Chvez, who played an important behindthe-scenes role in convincing FARC leaders to participate in the talks, adds
uncertainty about Venezuelas future role as an accompanying country in the
process.

March 4, 2013

FARC negotiator Rodrigo Granda tells reporters that following a successful peace
process, FARC leaders would not run for office, at least not under the current
electoral regime, which in his view is stacked against leftist candidates.

March 3, 2013

The president of Colombias Senate and members of both houses peace committees
begin a two-day visit to Havana to speak with negotiators, including FARC
representatives. After hearing Colombians concerns throughout the country, we
decided it was time to transmit these doubts and concerns about the timeframe of the

process to the negotiators on both sides of the table, says Senate President Roy
Barreras.

March 1, 2013

Government and FARC negotiators complete the sixth round of talks. We have
advanced in the construction of an accord on the following issues: land access and
use; unproductive lands; formalization of property; agricultural frontier; and
protection of [smallholder] reserve zones, reads a joint communiqu.
We know we are in a key moment of the dialogues where results are required, this is,
accords on the agrarian issue that allow us to continue with the discussion of the other
points of the agreed agenda, says chief government negotiator De la Calle in a
generally upbeat statement.

February 28, 2013

Despite a sour national mood on the talks, reports the Colombian daily El Espectador,
in Havana The news, to the extent known, is good: there is now a basic document,
written jointly by the two negotiating teams, with about five pages on which accords
have been reached.
The FARC guerrillas still have an ethical and moral debt, not to the government but
to the populations right to live in peace, Vice-President Angelino Garzn tells the
Spanish daily El Pas. The guerrillas are conspiring against peace and shooting at
peace. They cannot keep asking impossible things of the government in a negotiation,
like asking for a bilateral cease-fire or that the government allow them to kidnap
soldiers and police.

February 26, 2013

FARC negotiators read a statement from the guerrillas General Staff (Estado Mayor
Central) that says, It is surprising to hear that if there are no advances in Havana the
government will get up from the table, when the FARC have presented more than 40
proposals to speed the process. The document ends with a call on the government not
to kick aside (patear) the negotiating table.

February 25, 2013

The latest edition of Colombias bimonthly Gallup poll brings bad news on public
opinion. The percentage of Colombian respondents supporting the FARC talks falls to
62, from 71 in December. The percentage believing that these talks will end the
conflict with the FARC falls to 36, from 43 in December. President Santoss
favorability rating falls to 44 percent, from 53 percent in December.

Were going in a good direction, though I would like it to be faster. So far, things are
going well, President Santos tells the French daily Le Figaro. I dont want to give a
date, but a process like this cannot last several years. We have advanced in Cuba.

February 24, 2013

Weve put together at least two or more pages of an agreement, and this is an
advance that had not been achieved in previous processes, lead FARC negotiator
Ivn Mrquez tells Semana magazine columnist Mara Jimena Duzn.
We support President Santos and his government in the search for peace to finally
reach a solution to that terrible conflict with the FARC, says Frances foreign
minister, Laurent Fabius, on a visit to Bogot.
Interview with FARC negotiator Rodrigo Granda in the Medelln daily El
Colombiano.

February 23, 2013

[T]he people should understand that we are conversing in the midst of conflict, that
that is difficult, often contradictory, but that is the route that we deliberately chose,
says President Santos. At this moment I would have no problem getting up from the
table and saying that this is over. But Im going to make every possible effort so that
this doesnt happen, because just imagine Colombia without that conflict.

The FARC posts a statement laying out ten minimum proposals for a rural cadaster.
There is a mix of optimism, fortitude and mistrust, FARC negotiator Rubn Zamora
tells Semana magazine journalist Marta Ruiz, who asked him how rank-and-file
guerrillas are viewing the talks. Optimism over a possible end of the war, fortitude to
remain in the jungle if this attempt fails, and fear of being betrayed by the state if they
lay down their arms, Ruiz explains.

February 22, 2013

Maximum FARC leader Timolen Jimnez issues a statement responding to President

Santoss February 20 event distributing lands recovered from the FARC in San
Vicente del Cagun, Caquet. While alias Timochenko recognizes the possibility
that the FARC displaced some peasants and must give some land back, he complains
that President Santoss statements in San Vicente part of the zone that hosted peace
talks that failed eleven years earlier that same day make no mention of the current
peace process. While its true that the dialogues have made some important advances
toward accords, official attitudes threaten to mire it in a swamp, reads the
statement. Lets get it out of there now, Santos. This narrow and calculated
conception of the process threatens to drown it. Lets save it.
Those who have the peace process stuck are the FARC with their kidnappings and
attacks, responds Interior Minister Fernando Carrillo.

February 18, 2013

Government and FARC negotiators begin a sixth round of talks in Havana on the first
agenda item, land and rural development.
A Datexco poll shows 67.34% of Colombians surveyed believing that the current
peace process with the FARC will not be successful. 20.25% say that they believe it
will be successful. 52.87% disapprove of President Santoss management of the
dialogues.
The FARC posts a statement laying out ten minimum proposals for food security.
Those who are conspiring the most against peace are the FARC guerrillas
themselves, Vice President Angelino Garzn tells the Associated Press. Amid so
many terrorist actions against Colombias civilian population, it cant be built. It is a
counter-revolutionary way to face peace.

February 17, 2013

In a statement on the eve of the sixth round of talks, lead government negotiator
Humberto de la Calle says, We hope to bring good news from Havana. Without
generating false expectations, we really believe that there is an opportunity. De la
Calle also acknowledges the difficulty of negotiating while fighting and other acts of
violence make headlines, and reiterates the government insistence on sticking to the
agreed agenda: These are not dialogues about all issues that occur to the guerrillas.

February 15, 2013

The FARC releases Vctor Alfonso Gonzlez and Cristian Camilo Yate, the two
police officers captured on January 25 in Valle del Cauca, to a humanitarian
commission of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Colombians for
Peace.
President Santos thanks the visiting president of the European Parliament, Martn
Schulz, for his support of the peace process.

February 12, 2013

Lead FARC negotiator Ivn Mrquez sends a letter to Cardinal Rubn Salazar, the
maximum authority of the Catholic church in Colombia, inviting him and top bishops
to Havana to discuss the peace process. Cardinal Salazar turns down the invitation.

February 11, 2013

Speaking before a Colombian military audience, President Santos says, We have to

persevere until peace is achieved, one way or another. One way [peace], well take
less time, and I hope it can be done. He adds that the frequency of FARC attacks has
not increased, although there has been more noise in the media.

February 10, 2013

The fifth round of talks on the first agenda item, land and rural development,
concludes in Havana. In a joint communiqu, negotiators from both sides say that
there have been convergences following an exhaustive analysis. The fifth round is
to begin on February 18.
FARC spokesman Rodrigo Granda says the talks are moving forward at the speed of
a bullet train.
One thing is what the FARC say in public as part of their platform, which they will
be able to defend within democracy if they reintegrate into civilian life. And another
thing is what is discussed at the table. We are sticking strictly to the agenda agreed in
the General Accord, says chief government negotiator De la Calle. We hope that the
FARC frees the kidnapped policemen and soldier through a quick process, he adds.
Once again, we vehemently reject kidnapping. Every act like this is a direct attack on
the peace process.

February 9, 2013

The FARC posts a statement laying out ten minimum proposals for political
recognition of peasant rights and the definition of landholdings.

February 6, 2013

The FARC posts a statement laying out eight minimum proposals for territorial
ordering of agricultural land. These include a proposal for Legal marijuana, poppy
and coca-leaf crops and substitution of illegal crops.

February 5, 2013

If there is will, I have faith that this year we will achieve peace in this country, says
President Santos. Making war is harder than making peace.
The FARC sets off two car bombs in Caloto, Cauca department, killing two people
and wounding several more.

February 3, 2013

In a statement, the FARC high command condemns what it characterizes as the ultraright wings campaign against the Havana peace process. The statement insists, The
conversations at the table are proceeding normally, nobody has gotten up or formally
threatened to leave. To the contrary, the two sides are working in search of points of
convergence on the agrarian issue.
President Santos authorizes Colombias Defense Ministry to coordinate the release of
the FARCs two police captives, as well as that of a soldier also captured the previous
week.

February 2, 2013

The FARC announce that they will release two policemen whom they took captive on
January 25 to the International Committee of the Red Cross and Colombians for
Peace, a non-governmental group.

In a separate statement, the guerrillas attack former President lvaro Uribe, who has
been a vocal critic of the peace talks, as a pure-blooded paramilitary. The
Colombian government responds with a demand that the FARC respect the dignity
of Uribe.

January 31, 2013

A fifth round of talks between government and FARC representatives begins in

Havana.
If the FARC believe that through kidnappings, which they promised that they
wouldnt carry out, theyre going to try to pressure the government to agree to what
they aspire to, a cease-fire within the dialogue process, then theyre wrong! To the
contrary! says President Santos.
FARC guerrillas free three civilian oil workers whom they had kidnapped in Cauca a
day earlier.

January 30, 2013

Lead government negotiator De la Calle says, Things must be called by their names:
a kidnapping is a kidnapping, it doesnt matter whom the victim is. The FARC will
have to respond for this act [the capture of two police on January 25], as with all of
the thousands of kidnappings they have committed. But they also err radically if they
think that with this type of actions, they can obligate the government to agree to a
bilateral cease-fire. Were going to Havana to end the conflict, which is what we
agreed. And if that is not the case, they should tell us at once, so as not to waste the
governments and the Colombian peoples time.

January 26, 2013

At a summit meeting in Chile, President Santos and Venezuelan Vice-President

Nicols Maduro discuss the FARC peace process.

January 25, 2013

The FARC captures two policemen in Valle del Cauca department. On January 29,
the guerrillas issue a statement affirming their claim to have abandoned kidnapping
for ransom, but reiterating their intention to continue holding security-force members
whom they capture as prisoners of war. The policemens capture sends the talks
into their most serious crisis to date.

January 24, 2013

Government and FARC negotiators conclude the fourth round of talks, which began
on January 14th. In a joint statement, negotiators say there have been aproximaciones
(movement toward agreement) on some aspects of the land and rural development
issue.

We believe there are concrete results in these advances in the land reform proposal,
says FARC negotiator Jess Santrich. We believe this is a mambo rhythm. Its
subdued but accelerated.
Chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle says that there have been areas of
agreement, but also much distance remaining, on the land issue. He reiterates the
governments rejection of a cease-fire.
FARC negotiators issue a communiqu laying out their eighth through tenth of ten
proposals for land and rural development.

January 23, 2013

In an interview with the Communist newspaper Voz, maximum FARC leader

Timolen Jimnez rejects speculation that internal divisions exist within the guerrillas
on the subject of peace.
FARC negotiators issue a communiqu laying out their sixth and seventh of ten
proposals for land and rural development.
In a press statement (video, chief FARC negotiator Ivn Mrquez reiterates the
guerrillas call for a bilateral cease-fire.

January 22, 2013

FARC negotiators issue a communiqu laying out their fourth and fifth of ten
proposals for land and rural development. These include a proposal to legalize
cultivation of coca for medical, therapeutic, or cultural use.

January 21, 2013

FARC negotiator Rodrigo Granda says that while the guerrillas have abandoned their
2-month unilateral cease-fire, they do not plan an all-out offensive as some
Colombian security authorities had warned.

January 20, 2013

The FARCs two-month unilateral cease-fire ends on this day with attacks on a
pipeline in Putumayo department and a police station in Norte de Santander
department. Chief guerrilla negotiator Ivn Mrquez confirmed on January 9 that the
FARC would not prolong the truce. The unilateral cease-fire ends on January 20.
Thats it, Mrquez again informs reporters on January 14.
The truth is that there was an important reduction in this organizations number of
actions, there was a very important reduction in the number of our soldiers and police
killed or wounded. With that we can conclude that there was compliance [with the
cease-fire]. But a relative compliance, because there were also actions, says
President Santos.
Colombias human rights ombudsman said that the FARC carried out 57 attacks
during the truce. The Corporacin Nuevo Arco Iris think-tank counted 7 to 15
possible attacks.
In a statement, FARC negotiators reiterate their call for a constitutional convention to
lock any eventual peace accord commitments into permanent law.

January 19, 2013

FARC negotiators issue a communiqu laying out their second and third of ten
proposals for land and rural development.

January 18, 2013

FARC negotiators issue a communiqu critical of Agriculture Minister Restrepo and

the role of foreign agribusiness.
After kidnapping five mining workers in Bolvar department, the ELN releases a
video in which maximum leader Nicols Rodrguez alias Gabino asks, Why arent
we at the [negotiating] table? Thats a question for President Santos.

January 16, 2013

FARC negotiator Jess Santrich says that any peace accord achieved in Havana
should be approved by a new constitutional assembly in order to give it dynamism,
construction and legitimacy. President Santos rejects the constitutional assembly
idea, but suggests that an eventual accord could be put up for popular consideration
through a referendum.
An Ecuadorian border-zone general says he has seen an increase in FARC armstrafficking activity since the process started. FARC negotiator Rodrigo Granda denies
it, saying the FARC are instead arming themselves with much patience and many
arguments for the talks, and blaming the extreme right in the continent taking shots
at the peace process. Granda also denies rumors that the FARC are internally
divided, and says that he hopes the talks can be concluded by November 2013.
In a letter [PDF] to Agriculture Minister Juan Camilo Restrepo, FARC negotiators ask
that pending legislation regarding land and rural development the current topic of
the talks be halted.

January 14, 2013

A fourth round of talks, focused on the first agenda item, land and rural development,
begins in Havana, Cuba.
The FARC issue a communiqu echoing the governments call for a faster pace in the
dialogues, and laying out what they say is the first of ten proposals for land and rural
development, the current negotiating topic.

January 13, 2013

President Santos meets with the government negotiating team in Bogot, a day before
the fourth round of talks is to begin in Havana. Lead negotiator de la Calle gives a
mostly upbeat address (video). We are in deep, concrete discussions about the rural
development agenda topic, he says. President Santos hopes, he adds, that now that
we are inaugurating the conversations in this new year, that they take place at a new
pace. We need a faster pace (necesitamos ms ritmo).

January 12, 2013

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter visits Bogot to discuss the peace process with
President Santos. Im sure that my government and many of its leaders support the
current process, says Carter. Santos adds that in addition to peace, they discussed the
need to revise and seek alternatives to what has been called the war on drugs.'

January 9, 2013

The United Nations delivers to FARC and government negotiators 11 volumes

containing 546 proposals on the issue of land and rural development. The proposals
came from the 1,300 participants in a December 17-19 forum, held in Bogot, to
facilitate civil-society participation in the peace process.