No talks with guerrillas while violence continues: Colombia
By Dialogo August 18, 2010 Colombia on August 15 rejected an offer for talks with the country’s most powerful guerrilla group, saying there could never be dialogue with rebels engaged in “terrorism.” “Colombia will never talk with terrorists; that is a lesson we have already learned,” said Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera in an interview with Bogota’s daily El Espectador. “There is no dialogue with those who turn to terrorism,” Rivera said. In a videotaped message released a week before President Juan Manuel Santos took office on August 7, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leader Alfonso Cano offered to open peace talks with the new government. In a separate interview with RCN radio network, Rivera said that government forces knew where Cano is hiding. He is “fleeing from the security forces. He has no rest… we are not going to let up,” Rivera said. After taking office Santos said he would not close the door to talks, but they would have to be “based on the unalterable premise that (the guerrillas) give up arms, kidnapping, extortion, drug trafficking, and intimidation.” The FARC has an estimated 8,000 fighters. Another leftist guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army, is believed to have some 2,000 combatants. A car bomb exploded in Bogota on August 12, wounding seven people and damaging hundreds of buildings. As of August 15 however the government was unwilling to assign blame for the blast. Colombia has been beset for years by violence involving leftist guerrillas, right-wing paramilitary death squads, and powerful drug cartels. Santos said on August 13 that he did not believe the conditions were ripe for talks with the guerrillas, and ordered Rivera to press ahead with an offensive against them. As defense minister, Rivera is in charge of both the armed forces and the national police.
Read also: Jakarta ‘must do better’ as it extends PSBB transition“The public concern over health and the economy seems more balanced. Compared to the previous survey, there was a significant increase in the share of the public that wanted the government to prioritize the economy,” he said.Only 33.9 percent of respondents in July wanted the government to prioritize public health, a sharp decrease from the 60.7 percent in May.”The public, in general, wants the economic recovery from the pandemic to be the government’s top priority.”Responding to the survey, pulmonologist Erlina Burhan of the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI) COVID-19 task force said that although people no longer wanted restrictions, the number of cases was continuing to surge. She noted that Indonesia had surpassed China in officially recorded COVID-19 cases.”We see that as we relax the restrictions, the number has yet to drop. China has a population of 1.6 billion. Our population is 270 million, but the number of our confirmed cases is higher. This means we still cannot control the spread,” Erlina said.She added that the government had to oversee public activities to ensure that health protocols were carried out properly on public transportation, in entertainment centers and in offices, among other places.”Where there is a crowd, there is [the potential for] transmission of the virus. The community must be closely monitored. Don’t leave them alone with a mere appeal,” she added.Topics : Only 34.7 percent of the July respondents said they wanted the government to maintain the restrictions – down from 50.6 percent in the May survey.”Compared to previous findings, there was a significant decrease in groups that supported PSBB. Likewise, there was a significant increase in groups that wanted the government to stop PSBB,” the pollster’s executive director, Burhanuddin Muhtadi, said in a virtual press conference on Tuesday.Burhanuddin added that the majority of respondents – of all genders, ages, religions, educational backgrounds, incomes, ethnicities, locations and political alignments – wanted PSBB to stop.The survey also found that 47.9 percent of respondents wanted the government to prioritize economic issues over health. A sharp increase from 33.9 percent in May. Most Indonesians no longer want large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) to be in force as the country takes gradual steps to reopen the economy, a survey conducted by Jakarta-based pollster Indikator Politik Indonesia has shown.The survey, which was conducted from July 13 to 16 and polled 1,200 respondents from the country’s 34 provinces, found that 60.6 percent of respondents said PSBB should be stopped to support the economy, a significant increase from the 43 percent who responded in the same way in a survey in May.
Mourinho, who was sacked by Chelsea last week, has been linked with the position at Old Trafford after United dropped out of the top four and crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage. But Mourinho’s agent Jorge Mendes, speaking to Globoesporte, insisted there had been no approach from United for his client’s services. “There is nothing,” Mendes said when asked about reports the former Chelsea manager had agreed to take over at Old Trafford. “We don’t know what will happen in the future, but now there is no agreement. There isn’t an official proposal either, that’s not true.” Mourinho is understood to be spending the week in Portugal with his family, but he is looking for a quick return to management and with Van Gaal’s United floundering, the 52-year-old could realise his dream of taking over at Old Trafford if the club’s board decides to dispense with the current manager. Some fans clearly want that to happen. Cries of Mourinho’s name could be heard around Old Trafford on Saturday when United slumped to a 2-1 defeat to Norwich. United were booed off the pitch following their third straight defeat, which left them in fifth position. Three weeks ago, senior United figures insisted Van Gaal had the board’s full support, but after a run of six matches without a win, they have now fallen quiet. It is understood the United board were disappointed in particular at Van Gaal’s failure to lead the team through what was viewed as a relatively easy Champions League group containing PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow and Wolfbsurg. Jose Mourinho’s agent has denied a deal has been struck for his client to replace Louis van Gaal as Manchester United manager. Press Association And a second straight defeat in the league last weekend meant United will head into the busy Christmas schedule outside the top four. Although United could stomach another year out of the Champions League in a financial sense, the damage to the club’s standing in the game would be hit if they were not in Europe’s top club competition next season. And with Mourinho available and willing to take the job, there has been a flood of speculation linking the two-time Champions League winner with United. United will also be aware Pep Guardiola is available in the summer, although he is rumoured to be ready to move to Manchester City instead following his stint with Bayern Munich. On Wednesday, Van Gaal will take questions on his future for the first time since Mourinho was sacked. The Dutchman is due to conduct his weekly press conference at the AON Training Complex in Carrington at 3:30pm. United travel to Stoke on Boxing Day before hosting Chelsea on December 28. Speaking after the loss to Norwich, Van Gaal insisted he had the backing of executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward and his own players. ”Ed was very fast out of the dressing room but I feel that support, yes,” the 64-year-old said. ”The most important support is from the players because the players have to do it on the pitch and the chemistry between the players and the manager and his staff is very important.” 
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