Colombia’s government and leftist FARC fighters have finalized a deal that should put an end to war and open a path to a peaceful future.
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“We’re going to hear exactly what has happened, what now needs to be done by the U.N.”, Britain’s deputy U.N. ambassador Peter Wilson told reporters Thursday.
A smiling President Santos called it a “very special day”, speaking to a group of children taking part in a government-sponsored art competition called “Paint a Colombia in Peace”.
More than 220,000 have died in the fighting between the government and Marxist rebels over five decades.
Provisions that allow FARC leaders who confess their crimes to avoid prison may make the deal a bitter pill to swallow for many Colombians who think the rebels are escaping justice for decades of murder, kidnapping, and drug trafficking.
This means that Colombians will have to swallow some bitter pills if voting in favor of peace with the country’s oldest and largest rebel group.
It was under Bill Clinton’s presidency that the USA began pumping billions in anti-narcotics and counterinsurgency aid to Colombia’s government.
People celebrate the announcement from Havana, Cuba, that delegates of Colombia’s government and leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia reached a peace accord to end their half-century civil war, in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 24, 2016.
In December 2014 the FARC announced its first unilateral cease-fire and, in a show of good faith, the following March the Colombian government suspended aerial bombings of guerrilla targets. But Santos had always refused to declare an outright halt to military actions until a final deal was reached.
An announcement is expected later on Wednesday, after almost four years of negotiations in Cuba.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is praising the new peace agreement between Colombia’s government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
President Barack Obama of the United State congratulated Santos.
Leading the opposition, former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe has regularly lambasted Santos for giving too much away.
The accord must now be ratified in a referendum on October 2 to take effect.
That’s why the recent peace agreement announced between the FARC – as the rebel group is known – and the Colombian government to end hostilities represents a monumental triumph.
Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos said: “To have long lasting peace we have to guarantee that those raised as armed insurgents can reintegrate into the social and legal life of our country”.
Meanwhile, Judith Simanca, a top negotiator for the guerrilla, told Xinhua that a new road begins after nearly four years of talks over issues that added up over 50 years.
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But the latest polls suggest he faces a struggle to convince people otherwise – with 88 percent of Colombians polled by Ipsos in early August saying FARC commanders must serve jail time, and 75 percent saying they should be banned from politics.
