Montevideo, October 23 (teleSUR-RHC)-- Former Uruguayan President Jose Mujica said he will join the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas in their current peace negotiations, accepting an invitation by the FARC forces themselves.

“As it could not be otherwise, I agreed to cooperate because I understand that this is a progressive cause. Achieving peace, where for 50 years rifles have spoken, is not only important for Colombia; it is important for our America,” said Mujica to the local news station M24.

Mujica did not elaborate on the specifics of his involvement in the talks, only that he accepted the FARC’s invitation to serve on a committee to help bring peace to the country. 

The FARC and the Colombian government have been participating in peace negotiations in Havana, Cuba since 2012 to try to bring an end to the over 50 years of internal armed conflict. Since the 1960s, over 220,000 people have been killed and millions more displaced.

The former Uruguayan president told M24 that encouraging the Colombian peace process is a “civilian duty in such a turbulent world,” one that both the Colombian people and Latin America in general “deserves.”

Mujica added that since he left office he has been approached to participate in many different international relations issues, but chooses to prioritize those that are the most important to Latin America and “the conceptual and ideological fight for integration” in the region.

In June, the former president called the Colombian peace talks “the most important event today in all of Latin America.”