The Colombian government and the FARC guerilla group have agreed to sign a new peace accord. A previous agreement was rejected by the electorate in a referendum, but no public vote will be held the next time around.
Image: Reuters/J. Vizcaino
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A revised document is to be signed in the Colombian capital, Bogota, on Thursday, after the previous deal was rejected by voters who though it was too favorable to the rebels.
"Consolidation of peace requires that we advance with a firm step toward implementation of the accord that permits us to overcome so many years of conflict in Colombia," the government and FARC negotiating teams said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
Terms of the new agreement were published last week, in an effort to garner support for the accord. However, Colombia's electorate will not have an opportunity to directly reject it this time around.
Instead - in a decision made behind closed doors on Monday - the accord must be ratified by Congress. That plan is likely to anger members of the opposition, including former President Alvaro Uribe who wants more far-reaching changes to the document. Uribe has said another referendum should be held, expressing his confidence that voters would once again reject the latest deal.
Moderate changes to text
The current 310-page document appears to make only limited changes to the original text, such as a clarification of private property rights and additional details about how rebels are to be confined for crimes committed during the war.
Hope for Colombia peace deal
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Government negotiator Humberto de La Calle described the new agreement as "much better" than the previous one when it was agreed earlier this month. However, he did not say at the time whether it would be submitted to voters or congress for approval. "The new deal is an opportunity to clear up doubts, but above all to unite us," he said.
However, the new accord appears likely to be less likely to be surrounded by pomp with the ceremony due to take place in the capital's small and intimate Colon Theater.
Negotiations have been talking place in the Cuban capital, Havana, for the last four years. Conflict between FARC and the government has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions.
rc/bw (AFP, AP, Reuters)
Latin America's longest armed conflict comes to an end
The Colombian government has reached a historic truce with FARC, ending over half a century of violence with the leftist group. Latin America's longest conflict claimed at least 220,000 lives.
Image: Reuters/A. Meneghini
How the insurgency started
In 1948, the assassination of populist leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan sparked political chaos in Colombia known as "the violence." Tens of thousands died and peasant groups joined with communists to arm themselves. Later in 1964, a military attack on the insurgency's main encampment led to the creation of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo
What the rebels wanted
FARC's political ideology has never been well defined. Initially, it sought to weaken the oligarchy's grip on power. The rebels also wanted land reforms in a country where more than 5 million people have been forcibly displaced, mostly by far-right militias. However, the group lost popularity as it turned to kidnapping and illegal gold mining for funds.
Image: Reuters
How the US got involved
To help the Colombian security forces fight against the insurgency and to counter drug-trafficking, the US began sending billions of dollars under Plan Colombia. The US State Department classifies the group as a terrorist organization and its leaders face US indictments.
Image: Reuters/J. Vizcaino
The human cost of the conflict
Latin America's longest-running armed conflict is responsible for the death an estimated 220,000 people, while millions of Colombians have been displaced within their country. According to Bogota’s estimates, there are 7.6 million direct and indirect victims of the conflict. The country has more landmine victims than any country except for Afghanistan.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Escobar Mora
Peace accord after decades of failed attempts
Peace talks between FARC and the government collapsed in the mid 1980s after at least 3,000 allies of FARC's political wing Patriotic Union Party were killed at the hands of right-wing paramilitaries. Efforts fell short again in 2002 after the rebels hijacked an airliner to kidnap a senator. The latest round of talks started in 2012 in Havana and culminated on August 24, 2016 with a deal.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/E. Abramovich
50 years of conflict
"We have reached a final, integral and definitive agreement" to end the conflict and build a stable, lasting peace, the government of President Juan Manuel Santos and the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia said in a joint statement. In June, the negotiators had already announced a cease-fire agreement and a blueprint for how the estimated 7,000 to 8,000 fighters will demobilize.
