Rio de Janeiro, Nov. 3, (dpa/GNA) – Hundreds of former fighters for the guerrilla movement FARC staged a “march for life and peace” in Bogota, Colombia’s capital, and demanded to speak with President Ivan Duque.
The former members of the group could be seen gathering in the central Bolivar Square, waving white flags, in images shown by broadcaster Caracol TV on Sunday evening.
The ex-fighters convened in the city having marched from different parts of the country, stopping to ask forgiveness for their deeds along the way.
The march was called after the assassination of Juan de Jesus Monroy, known as Albeiro Suarez, who led the reintegration of the group in the central department of Meta.
“It is now of the utmost importance that the men and women who made peace with the government of Colombia in 2016 receive support,” Julia Gorricho, Colombia expert at the World Wide Fund for Nature told dpa.
WWF has a project in Colombia that combines peace and environmentalism, the Parks and Peace project, which Suarez led. It aims to promote conflict resolution through dialogue.
Gorricho said it was regrettable that the former insurgents who were now committed to environmental protection were becoming victims of criminal violence.
After 52 years of fighting between the armed forces, left-wing guerilla groups and right-wing paramilitaries, Colombia’s 2016 peace deal with FARC officially ended the conflict and led to 7,000 fighters being demobilized.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) was turned into a political party, the Common Alternative Revolutionary Force, which retained the acronym FARC and was given 10 seats in Congress.
However, more than 235 ex-fighters have been killed since the peace agreement was signed, according to El Espectador newspaper.
GNA