Interview: FARC to become real political alternative for Colombia: top guerrilla leader

For the last four years, a stout, bearded Colombian man has been in the spotlight as the head of one of the last guerrilla movements in Latin America, who is Rodrigo Londono, the top leader of the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

"We are putting our guns and rifles aside but we remain a political organization with our actual membership. We are launching the idea with all sectors that want peace in Colombia to unite as a political movement and become a real alternative in our country," Rodrigo Londono, who is also known as Timoleon Jimenez, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

Reaching a peace deal in the South American nation has been Jimenez's goal since he was appointed in November 2011 as top leader of the FARC.

His dream has now come true. A final peace deal has been signed between Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos' administration and the FARC in late September.

However, the agreement negotiated for almost four years was rejected by over 50 percent of Colombian voters, which has placed the commander in the center of controversy.

Jimenez said the adverse result in the recent plebiscite is now generating awareness among the Colombian people.

"The vast majority represents our hopes that change will occur but that is achieved only by raising awareness, generating political culture, and providing real education and not misinformation. Those will be our main goals as a political organization within the nation's democratic system," he added.

Many Colombians who oppose the agreement believe top FARC leaders will escape justice after so many years of violent confrontations. However, the rebel group insists they will be subjected to a special tribunal for justice as agreed with the government.

"The final peace deal looks to heal the wounds of the past. A commission will investigate the truth behind all violent events that have taken place. Its objective is to seek justice and offer reparations to victims of the conflict," the FARC commander said.

Jimenez said the most important thing to do in order to "shield" the peace deal is to start implementing it. Now, both Santos' administration and the FARC have agreed to adjust the deal so that it can come into effect as soon as possible.

"We are trying to create conditions to open up the doors of political participation to important sectors of our society like peasants, indigenous people and many others. We want to give a chance to those who never had a voice," he said.

The FARC leader also said the rebel group will become a political party in the near future within the national structure and with the goal of representing millions of Colombians.

For this new endeavor, Jimenez said the organization is counting on many of its actual members to participate in the political arena.

"Each FARC combatant is free to decide whether to continue or not in the political party. That will not be an obligation. We expect, from an ideological point of view, that the vast majority of our membership will continue in the party," said Jimenez.

However, many Colombians, including the FARC, remember the experience of the left-wing Patriotic Union in the 1980s when more than 3,500 militants, political leaders and social activists were killed by members of the security forces of the Colombian state, paramilitary groups and drug traffickers.

"That is one of the reasons we believe the agreement cannot be renegotiated. Reaching a final deal has not been easy and it will not be derailed because of the impulse of a few people. We sometimes wonder if what happened in the 1980s will also be our fate," he said.

Another step to finally end over 50 years of war has been the announcement by Santos' administration and the second-largest rebel group in Colombia, the National Liberation Army (ELN), that their peace talks will begin later this month.

"We believe the comrades of the ELN, who also have 52 years of struggle and experience, will contribute a lot ... to the peace process. It comes at a time when we must accelerate the construction of peace in Colombia and their participation is essential," he said.

He also congratulated Santos on his recent Nobel Peace Prize victory and his dedication of it to the victims of the armed conflict.

Jimenez said he remains committed to the same "dream" that made him join the guerrillas over 40 years ago: fighting for social justice in Colombia.

"We are starting to build peace in a country that has been filled with hate for over half a century. We must move beyond the bitterness, hate and revenge and respond with a positive outlook for peace in Colombia," he said. Endi