The Colombian government and left-wing FARC rebels have signed a historic agreement that formally brings about an end to 52 years of civil war.
The rebel leader Timoléon Jiménez, known as “Timochenko“, apologised to “all the victims of the conflict” and was greeted by cheers and applause.
Under the present deal, the FARC shall be relaunched as a political party. Correspondents say that although there is widespread hope that the deal may bring an end to the kidnappings and bloodshed that have blighted Colombia over five decades, it has also led to divisions in Latin America’s fourth-biggest economy.
Dignitaries attending the ceremony included UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State, John Kerry, Cuban President, Raúl Castro, Mexico’s President, Enrique Peña Nieto, President, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (Peru), Venezuelan President, Nicolás Maduro, and a plethora of other regional and world leaders.
UN Secretary General, uttered during the ceremony: “You can look to the future with optimism. You are inviting Colombians to live in peace.”
FARC rebels must now hand over weapons to the UN within 180 days.
The US is not yet ready to remove the FARC from its list of terrorist organisations, nevertheless, is prepared to review sanctions once the peace agreement is up and running. On the other hand, only hours before the signing, the EU announced it was removing the FARC from its list of terrorists.
Symbolically the agreement was signed with a “bullet pen” from the conflict by the two parties.
For more information:
Presidency of Colombia, HE President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón: http://wsp.presidencia.gov.co/En/Paginas/Presidency.aspx
FARC: http://www.farc-ep.co
Mission of Colombia to the EU, Embassy to Belgium and Luxembourg, HE Ambassador Rodrigo Rivera Salazar: http://belgica.embajada.gov.co/acerca/embajador
Embassy of Colombia to The Netherlands, Mission to the OPCW, HE Ambassador Juan José Quintana: http://paisesbajos.embajada.gov.co/acerca/embajador
