Colombian ex-paramilitaries ask state for peace talks
The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) wreaked terror on the country in the 1990s as part of their bitter war against far-left guerrillas, aided at times by members of the armed forces.
But under the government of right-wing former president Alvaro Uribe (2002-10), the group's 30,000 fighters disarmed and agreed to submit themselves to a special judicial process that offered them reduced prison sentences in return for making peace and apologizing for their crimes.
Some of their leaders, though, were extradited to the United States and jailed, while others left the process and turned to drug-trafficking.
But the AUC called a meeting at the weekend in its old territory in the center of the country and expressed the desire to take part in President Gustavo Petro's "total peace" policy that has seen the government launch talks with far-left guerrillas and organized crime gangs.
Dressed all in white, members of the AUC declared their desire for reconciliation in their "first national meeting for peace" in Puerto Boyaca, on the banks of the Magdalena river.
Despite their demobilization, some former AUC members remain in prison, while others complain about having been left in a legal limbo that prevents them from finding employment or opening a bank account.
"We want to reiterate our desire for peace, express our repentance, publicly apologize to victims... reiterate our commitment," former paramilitary chief Rodrigo Perez told AFP.
Danilo Rueda, the government's high commissioner for peace, was present at the meeting, along with some former members of the far-left Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who signed a historic 2016 peace deal and were once the sworn enemies of the paramilitaries.
Former FARC guerrillas also submitted themselves to a special judicial process that involved paying reparations to victims, while the group transformed itself into a communist political party.
The paramilitaries want a new peace process that would afford them similar terms.
Rueda said the reincorporation of paramilitaries into civilian life "is a government commitment" but admitted that certain issues "have not been responsibly dealt with."
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