History was made yesterday as the Colombia government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) sign historic ceasefire deal to end 5 decades of war in that region, which includes the armed group laying down.
Negotiators signed the ceasefire agreement on Thursday in the presence of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC commander Rodrigo “Timochenko” Londono at a ceremony in Havana.
The historic event was also attended by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, the presidents of Cuba, Venezuela and Chile and the Norwegian foreign minister.
The agreement is a final step in peace negotiations which have been going on since 2012.
Colombia’s decades-long civil war has left more than 220,000 people dead and driven millions from their homes.
“Colombia got used to living in conflict. We don’t have even the slightest memories of what it means to live in peace,” Santos said on Thursday in Havana. “Today a new chapter opens, one that brings back peace and gives our children the possibility of not reliving history.”
Santos has said a final peace treaty could be signed next month.
“It is truly a historic agreement and it shows the two sides were able to reach a deal on the most sensitive points still standing in the very long peace negotiations, Al Jazeera’s Alessandro Rampietti, reporting from Bogota, said.
The means of implementation of the final peace deal remains to be settled.
Thursday’s announcement included:
- A commitment that rebels will lay down arms within 180 days of a final peace deal
- The creation of temporary transition zones and camps for the estimated 7,000 rebels
- A provision that no civilians will be allowed to enter Farc camps, to guarantee rebel security
- A provision that UN monitors will receive all the group’s weapons
Photo Credit: BBC
Report Credit: BBC & Aljazeera