Colombia’s president and the head of the FARC rebel group were due to meet in Cuba on Wednesday in a push to seal a peace accord and end a half-century guerrilla war.
Advertisement
As for Mr Santos, he has always said he wanted “the maximum amount of justice that allows us to have peace”.
Those sentenced after confession will serve between five and eight years during which time their movements will be restricted and they will carry out social work as reparation for victims.
Colombia’president and Farc’s top rebel commander have shaken hands signaling a breakthrough in almost three years of peace talks.
As history went prime time and millions of Colombians were glued to their television sets hanging on each and every word of the agreed upon terms of one of the most contentious issues of the peace agenda, President Santos and “Timochenko” addressed their respective peace negotiators, representatives from the Cuban government and the guarantor nations of Venezuela and Norway.
FARC agreed to surrender its weapons within 60 days of a final peace agreement being signed.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he called Santos to congratulate him and his negotiating team.
Negotiators from the Colombian government and the Farc, the country’s largest rebel group, have already reached agreement on land reform, political participation and illegal drugs.
After making that historic handshake President Santos promised that in exactly six months there will be a definitive goodbye to the last and longest war in Colombia, “and not only Colombia but all America”.
But amid the slow, but steady progress, one issue had seemed nearly insurmountable: How to compensate victims and punish FARC commanders for human rights abuses in light of global conventions Colombia has signed and nearly unanimous public rejection of the rebels. Further cementing expectations of a deal, the FARC in July declared a unilateral cease fire and are working with Colombia’s military on a program to remove tens of thousands of rebel-planted land mines.
Two people close to the talks, speaking on condition of anonymity so as not to distract from Wednesday’s announcement, said that a road map to conclude talks will also be announced.
“I know it is very important for Colombians that the guilty parties recognise their crimes, and tell the truth about what happened”, he said. The agreement on justice for war crimes, which will not be pardoned, is the first step in that process. And such crimes are increasingly broadly drawn: as well as massacres they include the abduction and forced displacement of civilians.
“Even after having paid a high price for rebelling against injustice, with our families also suffering the consequences of repression, putting our lives at risk, we insurgents are prepared to take responsibility for our actions during the resistance”, Timochenko said.
Advertisement
The center-right Santos was re-elected past year on a promise to bring peace, but he faces substantial opposition in Congress, most notably from influential ex-president and current senator Alvaro Uribe, a vehement critic of the negotiations. Since then, military confrontation between FARC and the Colombian government has been ongoing, with over 200,000 people having been killed as a result.
