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US removes Colombia's FARC from terrorism list

November 30, 2021 / 6:56 PM
Sharjah 24 – AFP: The United States on Tuesday announced it has removed the former rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia from its list of terrorist organisations.
"The Department of State is revoking the designations of the Revolutionary Forces of Colombia (FARC) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FT)," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

The US government had indicated its intention to remove the terror listing on November 23, on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the peace pact between the Colombian government and FARC, which led to their being disarmed and dissolved after decades of fighting.

The United States officially designated FARC as a foreign terrorist organisation in 1997, the halfway point of the rebels' six-decade conflict with the government.

"The decision to revoke the designation does not change the posture with regards to any charges or potential charges in the United States against former leaders of the FARC... nor does it remove the stain of the decision by Colombia's Special Jurisdiction of Peace, which found their actions to be crimes against humanity," Blinken said.

"However, it will facilitate the ability of the United States to better support implementation of the 2016 accord."
 
November 30, 2021 / 6:56 PM

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