BOGOTA, Nov. 22 (UPI) -- Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, who leads the hard-line opposition to a FARC peace deal, has rejected the latest version of an agreement between the government and the rebel group.
In a statement read aloud by Uribe on Monday, the leaders of the "No" to a FARC peace deal said the "government has denied" the introduction of "modifications to the adjusted agreement" proposed by the opposition.
FARC leaders have vowed to maintain a cease-fire with the Colombian government even after the peace deal was rejected in a 50.2 percent vote in early October.
In seeking an agreement that would be accepted, the opposition proposed for rules to be established in terms of impunity and justice systems, for FARC rebels found guilty of crimes to be ineligible to run for public office while serving sentences, and that the peace agreement not be included in Colombia's Constitution.
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"We recognize those points in which there have been advancements and those issues that could have some adjustments in Congress," a statement by the "No" campaign said. "However, without reforms in the listed issues, the government and FARC agreement is merely a retouch of the agreement rejected by citizens."
Those who voted "No" to the peace deal said they thought the terms were too lenient in favor of FARC. "No" voters wanted FARC rebels found guilty of crimes to be banned from running for public office, wanted FARC leaders to serve time in prison for crimes committed and wanted the group to use its illegally acquired funds to pay for compensation to victims.
More than 220,000 people have died and 5 million have been internally displaced due to the Colombian conflict since FARC's founding in 1964 as a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary group. FARC, known officially as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, has been involved in drug trafficking, kidnapping and other illicit activity to fund its insurgency.
