Colombia's FARC to Liquidate Its Assets for Victim Reparations

Colombia's FARC rebels will forfeit all their assets and hand these over to fund victims reparations, the group said on Saturday.

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"We will proceed to declare before the government all the monetary and non-monetary resources that have formed as part of our war economy," the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said in a statement.

The Marxist group, which has fought the government for 52 years, added the move came on a “completely voluntary basis” and “good faith,” as part of the definitive bilateral cease-fire agreed on with the government.

The announcement comes one day before the Colombian people are set to vote on a peace deal between the rebels and the government.

The funds will be given to victims of the armed conflict and will be handed over during the demobilization process, set to begin in the days after the referendum vote.

"We will give proceeds to the material reparations for victims," the statement said, adding that the FARC "has no monetary or non-monetary resources additional to what it will declare during the laying down of arms" — meaning they will be handing all the group's resources.

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The government's peace delegation chief, Humberto de la Calle, welcomed the announcement, saying it was evidence that the peace deal —which will receive final approval or rejection at the polls on Sunday— was already being implemented.

“This is a big announcement and great news for Colombia, but above all for the victims, it demonstrates that we are complying with what was agreed,” he said, adding that the FARC assets had been “maybe the most delicate issue of the negotiations.”

Under the deal the FARC are set to develop economic projects, including tourism, farming and cheese-making, to employ their ex-fighters, but cannot use any of the funds earned during the armed conflict.