Colombia rebels defect, hand in arms to government

BOGOTA (Colombia), Mar 8: Seventy members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia handed in their arms and light aircraft to the government in the biggest rebel defection since President Alvaro Uribe took office in 2002.

Uribe's big lead in polls ahead of his May 28 re-election bid is largely due to his military action against the 17,000-strong rebel group known by its Spanish initials FARC. He announced the agreement by the 70 rebels at a ceremony in Bogota.

Yesterday the FARC's Gaitana company handed in its weapons in the town of Alvarado, in Tolima province west of the capital Bogota, Uribe said.

The rebels handed in 63 weapons and an Aerocommander propeller aircraft they used to traffic weapons and narcotics, he said, adding that the FARC had bought the plane during failed peace talks with the previous government of President Andres Pastrana.

Although the government tries to tempt rebels to give up and surrender, only 53 FARC members had handed in their weapons since 2003. The government offers rehabilitation programs for surrendering guerrillas, although the programs are under-funded and those going through them often struggle in civilian life.

Thousands of far-right paramilitaries -- illegal militias which often worked in cahoots with sectors of the military -- have also handed in their arms following negotiations with Uribe's government.

Uribe has boosted military spending and significantly cut violence in Colombia, particularly in cities. The FARC have been fighting for socialist revolution since 1964.

Reuters