We are a long way off from seeing the implementation of these measures, but the handshake between Rodrigo Londono, better known by the nom de guerre Timochenko and Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos demonstrate that ultimately there is no peace without justice, and that the demands of victims remain central to all meaningful (read successful) peace endeavours.
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“We’re exhausted of all these promises and talks – they’re going to sign peace in six months?”
The Unit for Attention and Reparation of Victims estimates more than 220,000 people were killed amid conflicts between the Colombian government and FARC rebels.
A diplomatic breakthrough leaves many problems standing between Colombia and the prospect of peace after generations of armed conflict. The deal was reached in Havana, where both sides have been holding three years of talks sponsored by Cuba and Norway. It is the first time he has appeared at the negotiations that he set in motion almost three years ago and which he has staked his presidency on successfully concluding.
Cuban President Raul Castro and the two negotiating teams will also be present, the rebel source said.
“This will be an essential element to help heal the wounds of violence and build effective and sustainable peace”, she said in a statement.
The issue of how to prosecute soldiers and guerrilla leaders involved in war crimes was one of the major stumbling blocks in the peace talks, which started in 2012. They recently signed a deal determining the punishment for crimes committed during the war.
The special tribunals, to be run by Colombian magistrates as well as foreign jurists, will be tasked with finding answers for victims and sentencing perpetrators of serious war crimes.
Both FARC members and government forces will be subject to their jurisdiction.
Jail time may be possible for those who turn in their weapons later or are arrested after the 60-day timeframe the deal imposes. Reparations will also be provided to the families of victims on all sides.
Experts on the peace process hailed the deal as a milestone.
“We are on different sides but today we advance in the same direction, in the most noble direction a society can take, which is toward peace”.
“This agreement is a very significant development and a clear sign that, finally, an end to hostilities is tantalizingly close”.
This “final goodbye” to the “longest war in Colombia and the Americas” is being achieved on the basis of a system of justice and respect for the institutional framework, the same principles Pope Francis spoke about during his visit to Cuba, Santos added.
Some Colombians expressed anxiety politics might ensnare the potential deal, which voters must approve at a referendum before it becomes law in the nation of 47 million people that is Latin America’s fourth-largest economy.
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On June 4 this year, the government and the FARC also announced plans for a truth commission, but there are concerns that the courts may not be able to use any information that arises in the commission.
