The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) said today that the country needs deep economic, political and social transformations, to overcome the inequality prevailing, main cause of the armed conflict.
Jesus Santrich, member of the guerrilla delegation in the peace talks with the Colombian government, said that according to the United Nations Development Program, the human development index of that South American nation is below than that of other countries of the region, such as Venezuela, Argentina and Cuba.
He said with that indicator, Colombia only surpasses impoverished nations such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Bolivia.
An expressive example of the social tragedy is that the percentage of malnutrition (12 percent) in our country doubles the continental average, what it means that at least 5,000 children die every year for that cause, he said.
Speaking to reporters at the entrance of the Havana's Conference Center, permanent venue of the talks that started on November 19, Santrich said that living conditions worsen in the most remote regions of the country, where "access to health programs and education is deplorable or nonexistent."
"As part of the development of the Havana dialogues, the government should not forget that peace is not confined to cease military confrontation or to demobilize the insurgency. Peace is the result of Justice," he said. On the other hand, the guerrilla member noted that during the current sixth cycle, the parties have gotten more approaches, surpassing the five pages achieved at the end of the previous period.
Santrich also called to listen to the people as a fundamental premise of building peace, for harmony between the negotiation table in Havana and the actions taken by the government of Juan Manuel Santos.
The sixth cycle of the conversations, in which Cuba and Norway act as guarantors, will conclude this week, which has been focused on the agrarian development, the first item of the agreed agenda.
The other five issues refer to guarantees for political participation, the end of the armed conflict, the solution to the problem of illegal drugs, the rights of victims, and verification mechanisms and countersignature of the agreement in the negotiation table.