New FARC chief says willing to negotiate

Colombia's Marxist FARC guerrillas said they were willing to negotiate with President Juan Manuel Santos, in a statement signed by the group's new leader, named just two months ago. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia said there are "issues we are interested in dealing with at a hypothetical negotiating table," in a statement from FARC chief Timoleon 'Timochenko' Jimenez posted on a rebel website. "Before the nation, (we hope) to address privatizations, deregulation, the absolute freedom of trade and investment, environmental degradation, democracy in a market economy, and military policy," Jimenez said. He did not offer further details about the proposal, but suggested a return to the "agenda that was abandoned in Caguan," a reference to the last peace talks which failed almost a decade ago. The FARC is Colombia's oldest and largest guerrilla force, believed to have 8,000 members, and has been at war with the government since its launch in 1964. The group's last leader, Alfonso Cano, was killed in an army raid in early November. Timochenko, whose real name is Rodrigo Londono, was named the FARC's leader November 5 after Cano's killing. There was no immediate word on any response from the conservative Colombian government. Santos' long-held stance has been that the rebels need to unconditionally free all police and military staff they are holding, end all attacks, and stop recruiting minors as preconditions for the start of peace negotiations. The FARC has suffered serious losses since 2008, when its number two Raul Reyes died during a Colombian army raid in Ecuadoran territory, and its historic leader, Manuel "Sure Shot" Marulanda Velez, died after a brief illness.