“Peace is always better than war”. Uribe says the deal was too generous to a rebel group that in his view was almost defeated on the battlefield in 2012 when Santos initiated talks. “We have the definitive text of the final agreement”. The text can not now be amended, Santos said.
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon congratulated the negotiators for their perseverance, while emphasizing that equal determination will be needed to implement the agreement.
Obama also pledged to continue the USA bipartisan tradition of support for strengthening Colombia’s institutions and improving the lives of the Colombian people, the statement said.
Both sides have agreed to work together to address social exclusion, deliver justice to the victims of the conflict and build a stable and enduring peace.
Sergio Coronado, deputy director of CAFOD partner Centre for Research and Popular Education, said: “We are celebrating this news, this is the start of a long journey to transform the country, although we still face many challenges before we can say Colombia is a country at peace”.
Three previous peace processes with the FARC ended in failure.
Earlier, the government of Colombia and FARC have been made some partial peace deals, on their basis now is finalizing current peace agreement.
The conflict began with the founding of FARC in 1964, at a time when leftist guerrilla armies were fighting to sow revolution throughout Latin America.
The agreement must now be approved by Colombians in an October 2 referendum, and the government must win support from many who would prefer to have defeated the guerrillas through military force to avenge years of kidnappings and attacks.
The plebiscite is a binding yes-no vote on the accord, and 13 percent of the country’s eligible voters are required to turn out for the results to be valid.
Five days after the accords are signed, FARC combatants, possibly as many as 7,000 fighters, will begin demobilizing and moving to 23 designated areas and eight concentration zones where they will begin a six-month period of disarmament and reintegration into Colombian society.
But don’t expect any immediate peace dividend or security improvements in Colombia’s blood-splattered countryside.
A new campaign was launched by the president, advising everyone to vote “Yes” for the referendum, for this will be one of the most important votes of their lives.
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Colombia’s high commissioner for peace and a plenipotentiary negotiator in the talks, Sergio Jaramillo, seconded De la Calle’s remarks, urging Colombians to move beyond politics and be aware of the historic moment at hand. More than 220,000 people were killed in the conflict, tens of thousands disappeared and millions fled their homes.
