Earlier, the government of Colombia and FARC have been made some partial peace deals, on their basis now is finalizing current peace agreement.
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Santos’ announcement came shortly after government and guerrilla negotiators announced they had finalized a peace deal after more than five years of talks.
After more than five decades of conflict and almost four years of peace negotiations, the Colombian government and the FARC, the oldest guerrilla group operating in the Western Hemisphere, announced Wednesday night that they had reached a final peace accord.
Humberto de la Calle, right, head of Colombia’s government peace negotiation team, shakes hands with Ivan Marquez, chief negotiator of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, left, while Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, center, applauds after signing an agreement in Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, August 24, 2016.
“Today begins the end of the suffering, the pain, and the tragedy of war”, President Juan Manuel Santos said Wednesday night in a national address announcing the pact. “We have finished the war of weapons and started a debate fueled by ideas”, he continued.
The two sides had signed a ceasefire in late June.
The agreement is the result of negotiations that have been held repeatedly over the last four years.
Polls say most Colombians loathe the rebel group, but surveys also indicate Colombians will likely endorse a deal.
As part of the agreement, rebels will be granted amnesty for any and all crimes committed during the conflict – a notion that former President Álvaro Uribe recently said that he opposes.
In Bogota, several hundred people gathered around a giant screen in the rain to listen to the announcement, waving Colombian flags and banners. “I understand the expectations and worries of every Colombian as to whether we would reach this agreement or not”.
The points which have been thrashed out, ironed out and inked in, point by agonizing point are: Land Reform, Justice for victims of the conflict, Disarmament, Political Participation in the democratic process by the FARC, plus implementation of the entire deal.
“The future worries me”, Susana Antequeria, 30, told Reuters. “I’m so happy – I can die in peace”, crying as she spoke.
President Barack Obama said in a statement that the peace deal marks the end of an era of war, it is the first step in ensuring lasting peace. “The end of the armed conflict is near, and we hope this deal will bring an end to the violence and fear that has devastated the lives of over 7 million people, particularly those living in rural areas; farming communities, Indigenous and Afro-Colombian Peoples”.
The FARC took up arms in 1964 to fight against deep economic and social inequalities and, funded by the cocaine trade and kidnappings for ransom, swelled to as many as 17,000 fighters at the end of the 1990s, controlling large swathes of the country.
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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.
