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The leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Timoleon Jimenez, known as Timochenko, said Wednesday the rebel group saw the loss of the "Yes" campaign on the peace deal with the government as an opportunity to tweak the accord in hopes of avoiding a return to war.
According to Timochenko, the rebels have held several talks with the lead negotiators from the government on changes to the peace agreement.
"We can’t waste the opportunity to stop a confrontation that is about to turn 52 years and has brought so much misery and desolation to our people,” said Timochenko. “We are working, listening to different sectors, both from the "No" and the "Yes" campaign," said Timochenko.
He also said certain points which were already established in the agreement were not up for discussion.
"It would be absurd to open a discussion that we had to change several times, dialogues and views were exchanged. It would be out of context and would be like starting over, and the country is not up for that," said Timochenko.
The rebel leader said the agreement does include prison time for FARC-EP members who committed crimes against humanity, but that "these crimes must be proven.
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"What we need is reconciliation without taking things out of context, which have hurt us," said Timochenko.
The announcement comes after President Juan Manuel Santo said the cease-fire with the rebels will only be valid until Oct. 31. Colombians voted to reject a plebiscite over the peace agreement between the government and the FARC-EP.
The agreement that took four years to negotiate was rejected by a narrow margin of half of a percentage point and a low voter turnout of under 40 percent. The "No" won with 50.21 percent to 49.78 percent for the "Yes" vote.
The difference was a half of a percentage point against the peace accord. Only 13 million of the 35 million eligible voters made it to the polls.
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