Oct 2, 12:04 AM EDT

AP Interview: Uribe challenges Colombia's peace breakthrough

JOSHUA GOODMANJACOBO GARCIA
Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe harshly criticized the international community for having what he considers a double standard by applauding a recent breakthrough in peace talks with leftist rebels that he says undermine the nation's rule of law.

Uribe told The Associated Press that it's incoherent for the U.S. and Europe to demand jail time for terrorists from Spanish separatist group ETA, the Irish Republican Army or al-Qaida but expect Colombia to demonstrate leniency with guerrillas he says are behind scores of atrocities during the country's long-running conflict.

"I'm more worried about what Colombians think than the international community because we are the ones who are going to have to live with the consequences of what's happening," said the hardline former president.

His remarks came after President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia announced an agreement last week on the thorny issue of punishment for war crimes, a breakthrough in the three-year-old talks that paves the way for a final deal to be inked within six months. Under the agreement rebels that confess abuses to special peace tribunals, compensate victims and promise not to take up arms again will receive a maximum 8 years of labor under unspecified conditions but not prisons. War crimes committed by Colombia's military will also be judged by the tribunals and combatants caught lying will face penalties of up to 20 years in jail.

More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_COLOMBIA_FORMER_PRESIDENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-10-02-00-04-39

that Uribe has always opposed any diplomatic solutions. His past ties to the AUC should be proof of that.