The FARC is the largest and oldest guerrilla organization in Latin America.
Advertisement
Earlier Wednesday, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos hinted that major news would come before the end of the day. If voters reject the peace deal, Isacson said the country will be forced to start from scratch.
Today, the statement continued, they announced the end of the negotiations “and will deliver to the Colombian people the results of their discussions”.
An agreement with FARC does not guarantee an end to violence that began as a peasant revolt.
It will now go to a plebiscite vote on October 2. Mr Santos, who has staked his legacy on a deal, must now sell it to his people, who will be asked to vote in an up-or-down referendum.
“The war with arms is over, now begins the debate of ideas”.
But tonight both sides confirmed from their negotiating table in Havana, Cuba, that a peace agreement has finally been forged.
“We have won the most wonderful battle: the battle for peace”, said FARC’s chief negotiator Ivan Marquez. “It is the moment to give peace a chance”. “The guns will not remain in the hands of the FARC”. The FARC for its part has retained a Cold War-era view of Colombia’s political and economic establishment as “oligarchs” at the service of the US.
Norway has been involved in peace and reconciliation efforts in Colombia for decades and recently has worked with officials in Cuba to arrange for a new serious spurt in negotiations.
Shortly before the announcement, the FARC issued a video interview with their leader, Timoleon Jimenez, alias Timochenko, saying that “the uncertainty is over”.
What agreement has now been reached?
Funded by cocaine and kidnappings for ransom, it grew to a 17,000 strong force operating across vast swaths of Colombia.
“I think we have won the most lovely battle: the peace”, said Farc commander Iván Márquez.
The accord, whose final text has yet to be published, commits Colombia’s government to carrying out aggressive land reform, overhauling its anti-narcotics strategy and greatly expanding the state into traditionally neglected areas of the country. FARC commanders are planning to return to their remote camps in the mountains and jungles of Colombia, where they will hold a FARC “congress” to build support for the deal among rank-and-file rebels and prepare for disarmament and demobilization. Santos has been buoyed by a survey conducted by polling firm Invamer released on August 16, which showed that 67.5 percent of Colombians would vote in favor of the peace deal, with 32.5 percent opposing it.
He immediately launched his campaign for a “Yes” vote in the referendum, which he said would be the most important election of voters’ lives.
Advertisement
-Aug. 16, 2007: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez offers to mediate between FARC and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. That includes disarming rebels who dominate more than 100 cities and moving them to 23 temporary “normalization zones” and eight rural encampments to begin their reintegration to Colombian society.
