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BOGOTA, Sept. 18 (Xinhua) -- A senior leader of Colombia's largest guerrilla group announced Sunday that the group is seeking a new name to use after it finishes demobilization and becomes a legitimate political movement.
Speaking at a press conference during a meeting of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Ivan Marquez thanked the group's members for helping to broker a peace agreement with the government of President Juan Manuel Santos.
"The FARC... is thinking to convert into a legal political movement. We have not defined the new name, but we are listening to proposals from all guerrilla fronts. Some are very attractive," he said.
The 10th National Guerrilla Conference began Saturday in the southwestern department of Caqueta with the participation of around 300 insurgents. It is expected to be the FARC's last convention as a rebel army before its demobilization.
Marquez also thanked Santos for his gesture in freeing 24 guerrilla fighters from prisons to allow them to attend the conference. Afterwards, they will return to prisons to complete their sentences.
The Colombian government began a peace process with the FARC in 2012 with talks taking place in Havana, Cuba.
While the announcement of a final peace deal was made in August, Santos and top FARC commander Timoleon Jimenez will formally put an end to 52 years of a civil war at a signing ceremony on Sept. 26.
Following the ceremony, the Colombian people will vote on whether to approve or reject the peace agreement in a plebiscite on Oct. 2.
The conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC started in the 1960s as an uprising for land rights. It has left about 220,000 people dead and millions displaced.
