Peace deal signed in Colombia

Santos, who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the conflict, defended the new deal.

The new plan bypasses a vote by the Colombian people – against bitter opposition from critics.

After signing the revised deal with the rebel goup, the Colombian government sent the agreement for ratification directly to Congress, bypassing a second plebiscite. The five-decade battle has left more than 220,000 Colombians dead, forced 360,000 to flee the country and displaced 6.7 million Colombians from their homes.

The deal was inked in a low-key ceremony at a Bogota theatre, a striking contrast from the previous occasion.

199510199539199539Amidst violence, Colombia signs new peace deal with FARCColombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed a new peace deal with FARC rebels on Thursday, weeks after voters rejected an earlier agreement in a referendum.

Londono said the agreement “put a definite end to the war so we can confront our difference in a civilized manner”.

Meeting with foreign journalists, Rodrigo Londoño said implementing accords that call on the FARC, or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, to disarm in exchange for seats in congress will be a complex, yearslong undertaking. The new deal contains some 60 amendments.

Óscar Naranjo, a government peace negotiator countered:”This is the best agreement we could have”.

An earlier deal with the rebels, which sought approval from the citizens in October, was defeated by a narrow margin.

The first peace deal was rejected by the public for being too soft on FARC.

A two-way ceasefire between the government and FARC has been in force since August, but both sides warn it is fragile.

Changes were made to nearly all of the 57 points in the original agreement.

As both men shook hands at the signing, there were loud cheers and applause from those in attendance as many hope that this revised deal will finally bring an end to the saga.

Uribe has been a strong opponent of the peace talks.

“Many of us, perhaps, will be left by the wayside”, he said, adding that possibility of an unnatural death has been a constant since he joined the rebels almost 40 years ago.

It wants more of its demands met, including harsher sentences for Farc rebels who have committed crimes. Colombians fear that the peace following the new November 24, 2016 accord, could trigger more bloodshed, as it did following a previous peace process with the FARC in the 1980s when thousands of former guerrillas, labor activists and communist militants were gunned down by right-wing militias, sometimes in collaboration with state agents.