By Raimundo Urrechaga
HAVANA, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is prepared to hand over weapons to show its will of ending the civil war but remains cautious, FARC top leaders said to Xinhua on Thursday.
"The FARC guerrilla has the determination of becoming an open political and democratic movement but this must be the result of a lasting and irreversible final peace agreement with all the guarantees for our organization," said Jesus Santrich, one of the top rebel leaders.
The Colombian government and the FARC group on Thursday signed a historic cease-fire deal in Havana, Cuba, that would see the FARC disarm and its transition to a political party or movement.
Santrich called the cease-fire accord an "important step" to close over three years of negotiations, but he also said there is still a "long way to go".
"The agreements must be implemented," he said, calling for "conditions" for FARC members to live a normal life.
Rodrigo Granda, another top FARC rebel leader, said to Xinhua that the peace process is now "irreversible" with this cease-fire agreement but the organization is still "cautious" as a final peace deal is pending.
After signing the agreement, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos promised that he will defend the FARC's right to express themselves by legal and political means.
"There are a lot of good intentions," Granda, also known as the FARC's foreign minister, said the guerrilla unit and the government will continue discussions in the next few days regarding the implementation and endorsement of the agreements.
"The government believes a referendum is the best way but we think there are other forms and we must be creative on how to reach a deal on the last point of the bilateral agenda," he added.
According to the agreement, the rebels will lay down their arms within 180 days after the final deal is signed and demobilize its army into 23 temporary zones and eight camps throughout Colombia.
The FARC will hand over their weapons to the United Nations, which will begin a mission to verify the cease-fire.
The agreement also asked the Colombian government to guarantee the safety of FARC members and its political allies, who have been targets of right-wing paramilitary groups for decades.
Colombia's conflict concerning the FARC has killed more than 220,000 people and displaced millions since 1964, according to official figures.
