Colombia, rebels reach deal on land reform

Google – AFP, 26 may 2013

Handout picture showing the Colombian Government delegation in Havana,

Cuba on May 16, 2013 (Presidencia Colombia/AFP, Omar Nieto Remolina)

HAVANA — The government of Colombia and leftist rebels said Sunday they have reached a deal on land reform, one of the most contentious items in their drawn-out peace negotiations.

The agreement between Bogota and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia would compensate those who have lost land or were displaced from their property, said Cuban diplomat Carlos Fernandez de Cossio, whose country played host to the months-long negotiations.

So far, the talks at the Havana Convention Center have focused almost entirely on land reform -- the first of five agenda items to be discussed.

Land distribution was one of the triggers of the decades-old conflict in Colombia, where there is gaping inequality that divides wealthy landowners and poor peasants.

Both delegations will take a break of several days, and then begin talks on political participation.

Other agenda items include illicit drugs, decommissioning weapons and how to handle the victims of the armed conflict that has gripped Colombia for nearly half a century.

The FARC, Colombia's largest guerrilla group, has been in talks with Bogota since November 19 to end their nearly 50-year-old insurgency, the longest-running in Latin America.