This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21361093

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
Farc calls for legal coca and marijuana plantations Colombia's Farc proposes legal coca and marijuana crops
(about 14 hours later)
Colombia's Farc rebels have presented their proposals on land use at the peace talks, among them legalisation of coca and marijuana plantations. Colombia's Farc rebels have called for some coca, poppy and marijuana cultivation to be legalised as part of land reform in the country.
The document says the plants should have "industrial use for therapeutic and medicinal" or for "cultural ends". The guerrillas' proposal came as they attended ongoing peace talks in Cuba with the Colombian government.
The left-wing group wants no more new oil and mining concessions, and the revocation of Amazon mining plans. Legalisation of drug crops should be considered for therapeutic, medicinal, industrial or cultural reasons, Farc chief negotiator Ivan Marquez said.
Meanwhile, Colombia's police chief stepped up security at police stations after a wave of attacks by the Farc. Land use and ending drug trafficking are among the key issues at the talks.
General Jose Roberto Leon Riano said intelligence services had issued alerts and other measures had been taken to prevent further deaths. The concentration of land was a major cause of the uprising that brought about the Farc's establishment in the early 1960s.
More than 10 policemen have been killed since the left-wing rebels suspended their ceasefire on 20 January. "We need to reorientate the use of land towards sustainable agricultural production," Ivan Marquez told reporters, as the Farc presented eight proposals for land reform.
The wave of violence, with the government also stepping up their attacks on the rebels, is said to have heightened tensions in the peace talks. This meant even considering "legalising some marijuana, poppy and coca leaf plantations for therapeutic or medicinal reasons, for industrial use or cultural ends," he added.
The Farc list with eight proposals for land use in Colombia was read out in Havana, Cuba, during the latest round of peace talks with the government. Communities who grow such crops should not be criminalised and persecuted, the rebels said.
Besides marijuana and coca leaves, the Farc want to legalise the plantation of poppies. They called for an end to aerial spraying and other methods of eradicating drug crops.
The Farc's chief negotiator, Ivan Marquez, read out the list before resuming the negotiations, in which land reform is the current issue at the table. The Colombian authorities have long accused the rebels of using money from drugs to fund the conflict. As part of the peace process, they want the Farc to help end drug trafficking.
"(The government has to) halt the policy of criminalisation and persecution, suspend air spraying and all the other forms of eradication which are generating negative social, environmental and economic impacts," he said. However, analysts suggest that local Farc commanders who benefit from taxing drug producers are unlikely to readily give up a source of money.
The left-wing group also wants the government to stop issuing new mining permits and oil exploration concessions. Police security
They say these activities should be decreased to free up an area of at least 20 million hectares (49 million acres) of land for farming. The Farc delegation also urged the government to stop issuing new mining permits and oil exploration concessions.
Among other land reform issues that had already been proposed by the Farc is a demand that 25 million hectares of land - more than 20% of the country - be handed over to the country's poor. They say these activities should be decreased to free up an area of at least 20m hectares (49m acres) of land for farming.
The Farc has already proposed that some 25m hectares - more than 20% of Colombian territory - be handed over to the country's poor.
The peace negotiations were launched in November in an attempt to end five decades of conflict.The peace negotiations were launched in November in an attempt to end five decades of conflict.
The government says it has cost the lives of more than 500,000 people. On Wednesday, Colombia's police chief increased security at police stations after a wave of attacks by the Farc.
The rebels declared a unilateral two-month ceasefire at the start of the talks in November to end five decades of conflict, but it was suspended on 20 January. General Jose Roberto Leon Riano said intelligence services had issued alerts and other measures had been taken to prevent further deaths.
Colombia's stance has been to accept a bilateral truce only when a final peace agreement has been signed. More than 10 policemen have been killed since the rebels suspended a two-month unilateral ceasefire on 20 January.
The Colombian government says it will only call a ceasefire when a final peace agreement has been signed.