Nation cheers historic peace accord with rebels

Deal sets out how FARC hands over weapons once a final agreement ends a 52-year war

Colombians cried and hugged as the leaders of their government and the country's biggest rebel group signed a cease-fire and disarmament deal moving their country to the verge of a final peace accord to end decades of fighting.

As the agreement was signed in Havana, hundreds of people watched the ceremony live on a giant screen set up in Colombia's capital, Bogota, many singing the national anthem and waving the Colombian flag.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londono, commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, shook hands and described the moment as historic after their lead negotiators signed a deal setting out how 7,000 rebel fighters will hand over their weapons once a peace accord ends a 52-year war that has killed more than 220,000 people.

Santos has said he thinks the accord could come as early as next month, although negotiators have missed a series of other government-announced deadlines.

"Colombia got used to living in conflict," Santos said. "Today a new chapter opens, one that brings back peace and gives our children the possibility of not reliving history."

The disarmament and cease-fire deal does not mean an immediate halt to conflict or the start of rebels surrendering their arms. That will begin only after a final peace deal is formally signed.

As four years of peace negotiations seem close to success, attention is shifting to a referendum that Santos has promised to give Colombians a final say on its acceptance.

Difficulties remain

The peace deal could face difficulties due to the deep unpopularity of the rebels and the desire for revenge still felt by many Colombians over a conflict that displaced millions. Supporters of the peace process also fear that too many voters could simply stay home, threatening to leave the referendum below the participation threshold needed to be valid.

FARC's aging leaders agreed to begin negotiations in 2012, after a 15-year, US-backed military offensive that greatly thinned rebel ranks.

"The Colombian armed forces that grew enormous during the war are now called to play an important role in peace," said Londono, the FARC commander is better known by the alias Timochenko. "They were our adversaries, but going forward they'll be our allies."

Momentum had been building toward a breakthrough after Santos said this week that he hoped to deliver a peace accord in time to mark Colombia's declaration of independence from Spain on July 20. But the agreement signed on Thursday went further than expected.

In addition to a framework for a cease-fire, both sides agreed on a demobilization plan that will see guerrillas concentrate in rural areas under government protection and hand over weapons to United Nations monitors.

"This is historic, a great hope for Colombia," said Jimmy Gonzalez, a hotel worker in Bogota. "Let this end the spilling of blood that's affected us for so many years."

AP - Reuters

(China Daily 06/25/2016 page9)