US lauds Colombia ‘breakthroughs’; Kerry calls Santos

Peace talks between the FARC and the government have been held in Havana, Cuba since November 2012 in the hope of resolving the 51-year-long armed conflict which left 260,000 Colombians dead and over 6 million displaced.

“No later than in six months these negotiations must be concluded and the final agreement must be signed,” Santos said, adding that the Colombian government “recognizes and appreciates” the step taken by FARC to accept the peace negotiations.

The agreement announced on Wednesday breaks an impasse over the most sensitive element of the talks, namely whether guerrillas who lay down their weapons would be subject to criminal prosecution, prison terms and potential extradition to the United States.

The conflict is the longest-running in Latin America.

Cuba’s President Raul Castro, center, embraces Colombian President… The details of how they will give up their weapons are still to be worked out.

FILE – In this December. 3, 2014 file photo, Humberto de la Calle, head…

Santos and the top commander of Farc, Rodrigo Londoño Echeverri Timochenko, took part in the event on Wednesday in the Cuban capital of Havana where the negotiating teams announced an important accord on transitional justice, EFE news reported.

Kerry also thanked Pope Francis for lending his support to peace when after Mass in Havana on Sunday he called on Colombia’s government and guerrillas to end their “long night” of war and said “we do not have the right to allow ourselves another failure”.

Deals have already been reached on three of them: land reform, political participation for ex-rebels and fighting the drug trafficking that has fueled the conflict in the world’s largest cocaine-producing country. It could also deal a setback to illegal narcotics trafficking.

Those sentenced after confession will serve between five and eight years during which time their movements will be restricted and they will carry out social work as reparation for victims.

They agreed on a particular courtroom to attempt the worst crimes of the fifty one-yr battle, from intercourse abuse and kidnapping to torture and executions, however a attainable amnesty for different combatants. On Wednesday, however, those disagreements appeared resolved as both sides “finally agreed on a framework for investigating rights abuses, punishing guerrillas for their involvement in those crimes and offering compensation to victims”, the Wall Street Journal notes.

“This is a bad example for society that will generate more violence”, said Uribe, whose military offensive last decade winnowed the FARC’s ranks and pushed its leaders to the negotiating table. The two sides had reached a landmark understanding about how to bring their long civil war to an end.

He additionally criticized Santos for failing to ensure that FARC funds shall be used to compensate victims of the warfare.

In the end negotiators fell just short of receiving the pope’s blessing but advanced faster and further than anyone could’ve imagined.

Further cementing expectations of a deal, the FARC declared a unilateral cease-fire in July and has been working with Colombia’s military on a program to remove tens of thousands of rebel-planted land mines.