In Havana earlier on Thursday, government peace negotiators hit back at critics of the deal, telling a news conference the cost of bringing rebel fighters into society and building peace was far less than spending on the conflict. Up to 220,000 died in the insurgency and as many as 5 million people were displaced – more than 1 out of every 10 Colombians.
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The accord, which was reached after nearly four years of talks in Cuba, sparked celebrations in parks and bars in the Colombian capital, Bogota.
The deal will be put to a nationwide referendum October 2, needing 13 percent support to pass.
In a national address just after the announcement, Santos – who has staked his legacy on the peace process – said the deal marked “the end of the suffering, the pain and the tragedy of war”.
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.
“The Colombian government and the FARC announce that we have reached a final, full and definitive accord”, a joint statement read.
Former President Alvaro Uribe is leading the campaign to get the agreement rejected.
In Bogota, several hundred people gathered around a giant screen in the rain to listen to the announcement, waving Colombian flags and banners. “The best way to end the war is sitting down to discuss the peace”. “I know what is coming will be hard, but together we can cope”.
“I am not asking you to trust blindly in peace”. “But I’ll put up with it for peace”. The deal also guarantees the FARC some representation in Congress. The cease-fire will take effect a midnight Monday, Santos said.
“People who don’t live through the war, who live in big cities or don’t live in Colombia, they don’t think this deal is necessary”, she said.
“In the view of many, the agreement goes way beyond anything any other country in similar situations around the world has done”, Adriana La Rotta, a former Colombian journalist and the media relations director for the Americas Society/Council of the Americas, told FNL. “We have finished the war of weapons and started a debate fueled by ideas”, he continued.
It was under Bill Clinton’s presidency that the US began pumping billions in anti-narcotics and counterinsurgency aid to Colombia’s government.
It led the United States to support the Colombian Government with counterinsurgency aid which sparked a vicious war between the military and FARC, which was formed in 1964.
It will end the fighting and violence, which was important for both sides. Talks between the smaller, leftist National Liberation Army and the government have stalled.
The guerrillas will be able to transform into a political party (if they are able to convince supporters, of course).
Enrique Celis, whose brother-in-law, a Colombian soldier, was believed to have been kidnapped by the FARC in the 1990s, said he suspected his relative was still being held by the rebels. It won power in a 2009 presidential election and was re-elected two years ago.
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Once an agreement is announced, Mr Santos will need Congressional approval to hold a popular vote to endorse the terms of the deal.
