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| Farc to send Dutch woman to Oslo talks | Farc to send Dutch woman to Oslo talks |
| (30 days later) | |
| The delegation representing Colombia's main rebel group at peace talks set to begin this week in Oslo will include a young Dutch woman who joined the insurgents nearly a decade ago. | The delegation representing Colombia's main rebel group at peace talks set to begin this week in Oslo will include a young Dutch woman who joined the insurgents nearly a decade ago. |
| Timoleón Jiménez, the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), said Tanja Nijmeijer, 34, would be among rebel representatives in the Norwegian capital . | Timoleón Jiménez, the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), said Tanja Nijmeijer, 34, would be among rebel representatives in the Norwegian capital . |
| Nijmeijer gained fame when she complained of disillusionment in a diary found in 2007, four years after she joined the Farc. In 2010, however, she appeared in a video distributed by the Farc pledging allegiance to the insurgency. | Nijmeijer gained fame when she complained of disillusionment in a diary found in 2007, four years after she joined the Farc. In 2010, however, she appeared in a video distributed by the Farc pledging allegiance to the insurgency. |
| Jiménez, better known as Timochenko, also acknowledged in an interview broadcast on Monday that the talks had been postponed by several days. They were to have begun in the first half of October. | Jiménez, better known as Timochenko, also acknowledged in an interview broadcast on Monday that the talks had been postponed by several days. They were to have begun in the first half of October. |
| Government officials did not comment publicly on the reason for the delay but Enrique Santos, an adviser to government negotiators and brother of President Juan Manuel Santos, said the issue of suspending international arrest warrants for Farc delegates as well as the rebels' late inclusion of the Dutch woman contributed to the delay, as did bad weather that delayed travel for Ivan Marquéz, a top rebel negotiator. | Government officials did not comment publicly on the reason for the delay but Enrique Santos, an adviser to government negotiators and brother of President Juan Manuel Santos, said the issue of suspending international arrest warrants for Farc delegates as well as the rebels' late inclusion of the Dutch woman contributed to the delay, as did bad weather that delayed travel for Ivan Marquéz, a top rebel negotiator. |
| Santos said the talks would definitely begin by Thursday. | Santos said the talks would definitely begin by Thursday. |
| Timochenko, 53, complained the government had not provided guarantees that all Farc-nominated delegates to the talks would be permitted to attend. He named, in particular, Ricardo Palmera, the best-known of the rebels' five chief negotiators. | Timochenko, 53, complained the government had not provided guarantees that all Farc-nominated delegates to the talks would be permitted to attend. He named, in particular, Ricardo Palmera, the best-known of the rebels' five chief negotiators. |
| Palmera, 62, is serving a 60-year prison sentence in a maximum-security US prison, convicted of conspiring to kidnap three US military contractors whom the Farc captured in 2003 when their surveillance plane crashed after mechanical failure. | Palmera, 62, is serving a 60-year prison sentence in a maximum-security US prison, convicted of conspiring to kidnap three US military contractors whom the Farc captured in 2003 when their surveillance plane crashed after mechanical failure. |
| He is held in solitary confinement at the so-called "supermax" prison in Florence, Colorado. | He is held in solitary confinement at the so-called "supermax" prison in Florence, Colorado. |
| His lawyer, Oscar Silva, told Associated Press that the US government had barred Palmera from receiving visitors and that he could only speak with his client during hearings for a Colombian trial in which Palmera participates by video conference, with no opportunity for confidential conversations. | His lawyer, Oscar Silva, told Associated Press that the US government had barred Palmera from receiving visitors and that he could only speak with his client during hearings for a Colombian trial in which Palmera participates by video conference, with no opportunity for confidential conversations. |
| In addition to the US sentence, Palmera has been convicted in Colombia of the kidnapping of the former mayor of the north-eastern regional capital of Valledupar, where he was a wealthy banker before joining the rebels. | In addition to the US sentence, Palmera has been convicted in Colombia of the kidnapping of the former mayor of the north-eastern regional capital of Valledupar, where he was a wealthy banker before joining the rebels. |
| Colombia's chief prosecutor, Eduardo Montealegre, says Palmera could be permitted to participate in the talks via teleconference. | Colombia's chief prosecutor, Eduardo Montealegre, says Palmera could be permitted to participate in the talks via teleconference. |
| He told Associated Press on Monday, however, that the Colombian government had not yet asked the US government for permission. | He told Associated Press on Monday, however, that the Colombian government had not yet asked the US government for permission. |
| Timochenko called Palmera's participation "decisive", given his expertise in agrarian economics. | Timochenko called Palmera's participation "decisive", given his expertise in agrarian economics. |
| All but one man on the Farc's six-member ruling Secretariat is wanted by the US on drug-trafficking charges, with $5m (£3.1m) rewards on offer for each. | All but one man on the Farc's six-member ruling Secretariat is wanted by the US on drug-trafficking charges, with $5m (£3.1m) rewards on offer for each. |
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