Colombian rebels invite Miss Universe 2015 to peace talks

MANILA, Philippines – Achieving peace? This year’s Miss Universe, Colombia’s Paulina Vega, might just have a shot at it, after she was invited to join the ongoing peace talks in her native country.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Friday, February 6, invited the 22-year-old beauty queen, recently crowned Miss Universe in Miami, to the ongoing peace talks between the rebels and the Colombian government.

In a letter sent to the beauty titlist and posted on their official website, FARC said that they have “read with interest” Vega’s earlier statements that she would be willing to attend the talks in Havana, Cuba.

“We welcome your willingness to travel to Havana and we invite you to materialize your visit to update you about the development of the peace talks, the progress and the enormous contribution that you and the majorities who desire peace can make,” the rebel group, which has been in talks with the Colombian government since 2012, said.

“Be assured that we are willing to address your concerns and consider your views a valuable contribution to peace; we are waiting for your confirmation and your contribution,” the group added.

Vega, in a post-coronation interview, said that she was willing to go to Havana to attend the talks, The Guardian reported.

Negotiations between the two sides resumed this week in Havana after a year-end break, as rebels and the Bogota government try to end the half-century old insurgency.

Talks so far have yet to resolve key issues including disarmament and how any agreement should be ratified.

The FARC said in its statement that it also is looking for reform of the government’s position on communism, an overhaul of the armed forces, greater protection of minority rights, and other changes.

The government’s delegation, led by Humberto de la Calle, has been meeting with negotiators from the rebel group since November 2012.

So far, the two sides have agreed on three of the 6 points of the agenda to end the conflict, which is estimated to have claimed the lives of more than 220,000 people. – With reports from Agence France-Presse/Rappler.com