Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
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Colombia: FARC rebels vow to continue fight the government
Colombia's largest rebel group pledged Sunday to carry on in its decades-long war against the U.S.-backed government after confirming that the group's legendary commander had died of natural causes. The Defense Ministry had said the day before that Manuel Marulanda, who led one of the world's oldest insurgencies in a brutal if quixotic battle against the state, had died in March.
"With immense sadness, we inform that our commander in chief, Manuel Marulanda Vélez, died March 26 of a heart attack in the arms of his companion and surrounded by his personal guard," Rodrigo "Timochenko" Londoño, one of seven members of the guerrilla directorate, said in a video provided to a Venezuelan state television station, Telesur. "Our struggle continues without rest until we reach the objective of a new Colombia, a great Latin American fatherland and socialism."
The announcement closes a long chapter in the history of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and raises the possibility that the new rebel leadership may consider peace negotiations in the face of a military offensive that has recently resulted in the deaths of top commanders and the desertions of thousands of fighters. Colombia's largest rebel group pledged Sunday to carry on in its decades-long war against the U.S.-backed government after confir... more -
Colombia's Farc leader 'dead' says military
The leader of Colombia's largest rebel group, the Farc, has died, the military has claimed in a statement.
A national news magazine had earlier reported the death of Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda on 26 March, citing the defence minister, Juan Manuel Santos.
There has been no confirmation from guerrilla sources. The top rebel commander's death has been rumoured and disproved several times in the past. But correspondents say the death would be a big blow to the Farc if confirmed.
Mr Marulanda, whose real name is Pedro Antonio Marin, has led the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or Farc, since its foundation in 1964.
He is thought to be 78 years old and there have been persistent rumours of ill health, including evidence that suggested he had prostate cancer.
Mr Manuel Santos said reports from guerrillas suggested Mr Marulanda died of a heart attack, although he also told the Semana news magazine that three bombing raids had targeted the rebel chief on the date in question. The leader of Colombia's largest rebel group, the Farc, has died, the military has claimed in a statement. ... more -
Facebook used to rally protestors against Colombian rebel group
A grassroots movement against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) emerged on Facebook as young people vented their anger against the rebel group. That grew into "One Million Voices Against FARC," a series of planned marches throughout Columbia and major cities around the world, expected to take place on Monday. A grassroots movement against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) emerged on Facebook as young people vented their anger... more
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Facebook users spawn grassroots protest of Colombia's FARC
"What began as a group of young people venting their rage at the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Facebook, an Internet social-networking site, has ballooned into an international event called 'One Million Voices Against FARC.'"
Protests are being staged in over 180 cities worldwide to speak out against FARC's use of kidnapping as a political weapon. However, many Colombians oppose the protests, citing that the events do not support the release of kidnapped prisoners or peaceful negotiations with the Marxist insurgent army.
This is a great example of how technology can be used to rally huge numbers of people around a cause. What other causes can you see being affected by online organizing? Also, how can those engaged in online political organizing prevent polarizing communities with their efforts? "What began as a group of young people venting their rage at the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Facebook, an In... more -
Hostage deal falls through. Oliver Stone says "Shame on Colombia, shame on Ur...
A Venezuelan-led mission to rescue three hostages, including a young boy, from leftist rebels in Colombia's jungles fell apart Monday, as the guerrillas accused Colombia's military of sabotaging the promised handoff.
A Venezuelan aviation officer waits as two helicopters prepare to fly to Villavicencio.
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe dismissed the claim as a lie by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, instead suggesting the guerrillas could be backing out of the deal brokered by President Hugo Chavez because they don't have the boy hostage.
"The FARC terrorist group doesn't have any excuse. They've fooled Colombia and now they want to fool the international community," Uribe said from the central Colombian city where Venezuela helicopters have been waiting since Friday for word from the guerrillas on where the hostages could be picked up.
He made the shocking suggestion that the guerrillas "don't dare to keep their promises because they don't have the boy, Emmanuel" -- who the FARC announced two weeks ago they'd free along with his mother, Clara Rojas, and former congresswoman Consuelo Gonzalez.
Uribe said his government had given Venezuela and the international Red Cross coordinating the mission every guarantee that its military would not obstruct the handover, even promising to create a cease-fire corridor to allow the rebels to escort their hostages through the France-sized jungles to the pickup point.
Former Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and observers from France, Switzerland and four other Latin American nations abandoned Villavicencio on Monday.
"Shame on Colombia, shame on Uribe," Oliver Stone, the American filmmaker, told The Associated Press shortly before boarding one of three Venezuelan jets carrying the observers back to Caracas. Stone, who was invited by Chavez to document the handover, added "the FARC have no motive not to release these hostages." A Venezuelan-led mission to rescue three hostages, including a young boy, from leftist rebels in Colombia's jungles fell apart Mo... more -
Director Oliver Stone joins hostage rescue team; calls Chavez "a great man�...
Oliver Stone, the American filmmaker is jumping at a chance to meet with a group the U.S. classifies as a terrorist organization.
Leaving the glamour of Hollywood far behind, Stone arrived in the steamy Colombian city of Villavicencio on Saturday as part of a mission led by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to retrieve three hostages held for years by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.
Stone is part of an international delegation expected to fly by helicopter as early as Sunday into the country's eastern jungles, an area the size of France, to collect the captives: former congresswoman Consuelo Gonzalez, Clara Rojas and her young son Emmanuel, who was fathered by one of her guerrilla captors.
The famous director's presence in this violent country, struggling through its fifth decade of civil conflict, is a worry to his Colombian and Venezuelan guides. They prohibited him from leaving his hotel in Villavicencio, a town rocked in recent years by turf battles between rival drug traffickers and far-right death squads.
Chavez personally invited Stone to join the rescue delegation after the pair, who say they are mutual admirers, met for the first time last week in Caracas.
Dispatching rescue helicopters from Venezuela on Friday, Chavez joked that Stone was President Bush's emissary to the operation, while Stone called Chavez "a great man." Oliver Stone, the American filmmaker is jumping at a chance to meet with a group the U.S. classifies as a terrorist organization. ... more -
March for the Kidnapped
Gustavo Moncayo is an elementary school teacher in Sandona, Narino province (southeast of Colombia). His son, Private Pablo Emilio Moncayo is one of the soldiers who has been held hostage by the FARC for the longest time, as he was kidnapped in 1997. Driven by despair, profesor Moncayo, decided 6 months ago to chain his hands in protest against the situation of his son. Later, aware that his effort was achieving hardly anything, decides to start a walk through half of this country (his hometown is 1005 kilometers far from Bogota) to the capital city with the hope to get his son free again or to put pressure on the government and the FARC to start a humanitarian agreement to help all people held hostage in Colombia. His journey started more than one month ago he doesn't walk alone anymore, as people join him in every town he has passed by. Gustavo Moncayo is an elementary school teacher in Sandona, Narino province (southeast of Colombia). His son, Private Pablo Emilio Mon... more
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