FARC to seek ceasefire with Colombian govt

HAVANA - The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) Thursday said it would seek a ceasefire with the government at the start of peace talks next month.

At a press conference in Havana, a FARC commander Mauricio Jaramillo, a member of its negotiating team, said the organization would propose a ceasefire at the beginning of the talks to kick off on Oct 8 in Oslo, Norway. "It is one of our main points," he said.

The stance led observers to expect the peace talks would get off to a rocky start, as Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has said government forces will continue to fight the rebels even the peace talks are underway.

Santos said he didn't want to "repeat past mistakes", referring to the last round of failed peace talks 10 years ago, when rebels were accused of using the lull in fighting to strengthen their armed movement.

International organizations such as the United Nations, however, have said a suspension of hostilities is essential to the talks aimed at ending 50 years of armed conflict.

On Tuesday, President Santos and top FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, alias "Timochenko", separately announced the upcoming peace talks, which will begin in Oslo and continue in Havana. Venezuela and Chile will also send envoys to the talks.

Among the issues on the agenda are land distribution, mechanisms to allow the rebel group to transit to a political party, the combat against drug trafficking, which the government claims is used to finance the rebels, and compensation for victims of the fighting and their families.