Negotiators seeking to end the five-decades-old bloody insurgency in Colombia said Wednesday they had reached a final peace deal in one of the world's longest-running conflicts. The announcement was broadcast live on Wednesday from Havana, Cuba, where peace talks have been held for almost four years. The conflict has killed an estimated 260,000 people and displaced millions. Representatives from the Colombian government and the FARC rebel group for last four years have struggled to reach a deal that would not only end the fighting but also address issues of land reform, curtailment of the drug trade, repatriation of victims' families and trials for those suspected of human rights abuses.
On the 23rd of June 2016 lastly was announced that The Farc and the Colombian government sign a bilateral ceasefire, prompting scenes of jubilation across Colombia with the imminent end of the conflict. President Juan Manuel Santos called the deal "the beginning of the end to the suffering, a pain and tragedy of war". And on 19th of July, the Court approved a referendum initiative regarded peace deal.
The head of the Colombian delegation, Humberto de la Calle, and the chief Farc negotiator, Ivan Marquez, signed the agreement at a ceremony in Cuba. Both sides have agreed to work together to address social exclusion, to deliver justice to the victims of the conflict and build a stable and enduring peace. Moreover, under the agreement, FARC rank-and-file soldiers will lay down their heavy weapons, leave jungle camps and slowly reincorporate into Colombian society with the help of government training programs. The leaders of FARC have said they now intend to enter politics. The Colombian President said Wednesday that as part of the peace plan FARC will be given 10 seats in Colombia's Congress until 2026.
Read more (CNN)>>
Read more (BBC)>>
Read more (Columbia Peace)>>
Read more (Telegraph)>>
Read more (The Guardian)>>