CARLOS ALVAREZ – A monumental hand shake on September 23, 2015 in Havana Cuba between the Colombian president, Juan Manuel Santos, and the FARC’s chief, Rodrigo Lodońo alias Timochenko, sealed a historic agreement to formally end 50 years of war in the country.[1] The agreement, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, a result of exhaustive dialogues between parties, provides for “a framework for investigating rights abuses, punishing guerrillas for their involvement in those crimes and offering compensation to victims.”[2] The Colombian government and the FARC agreed to negotiate a finalized peace deal in six months and begin disarmament of the FARC 60 days after.[3]
While much of the world has commended this agreement as an incredible step for peace in the Latin American region, Colombians have diverging sentiments. Many believe the agreement is letting the FARC off the hook. The FARC is responsible for the estimated death of 220,000 people and displacement of millions since 1954.[4] Former President Alvaro Uribe, a critic of the negotiation stated “this doesn’t mean that peace is close, but this is a sellout to the FARC.”[5] Proponents of the agreement have expressed that while the process many not bring “true peace” to the country, it is better to have a path towards peace than none at all.[6]
On March 21, 2016, the US Secretary of State, John Kerry, held meetings in Havana with the Colombian government and the FARC to facilitate dialogue by discussing with each party the ‘“immediate challenges’ facing the negotiations.”[7] Both sides held these meetings as productive forum to assist in the negotiation about the transition of the rebel to “set aside their weapons to purse politics through the ballot box.”[8] Although a final peace deal was scheduled to be signed by March 23 by the two sides, the government reported “important disagreements” with the FARC on key issues on how the group would demobilize and disarm.[9]
Ultimately, the parties in a 297-page accord said “yes to peace” on August 24, 2016, which would be ratified by the people in a plebiscite on October 2 in order for the accord to take full effect.[10] Since then, the people of Colombia remain split on how they will be voting in the October 2nd referendum.[11]
After years of terror and corruption many Colombians are dubious of the process and express hesitation that there could ever be a successful process between Colombian government and guerrilla groups, such as the FARC.[12] While others who are tired of the war welcome the accord as “a great opportunity for an illegal armed group to be re-integrated into society” and where “resources can be re-directed towards” the society in general.[13] The government’s chief negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, has analogized that a “no” vote in the referendum as similar to Brexit vote, in part because history shows that once negotiations with the FARC are broken several years have to pass before conversation can be resumed.”[14] De la Calle urges that if a “no” vote wins the process will stop and no renegotiation will transpire.[15]
So what will it be?___________________________________________________________________________________________________
[1] Sibylla Brodzinsky, Farc Peace Talks: Colombia Nears Historic Deal After Agreement on Justice and Reparations, the Guardian, Sept. 23, 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/24/farc-peace-talks-colombia-nears-historic-deal-after-agreement-on-justice-and-reparations.
[2] William Neuman, Colombia Nears a Peace Deal with FARC Rebels, N.Y. Times, Sept. 23 2015, http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/24/world/americas/colombia-close-to-a-peace-accord-with-farc-rebels.html?_r=0.
[3] Id
[4] Sibylla Brodzinsky, Farc Peace Talks: Colombia Nears Historic Deal After Agreement on Justice and Reparations, the Guardian, Sept. 23, 2015, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/24/farc-peace-talks-colombia-nears-historic-deal-after-agreement-on-justice-and-reparations.
[5] Juan Forero, Colombia, FARC Rebel Group Reach Breakthrough Agreement in Peace Talks, Wall St. J., Sept. 16, 2016, http://www.wsj.com/articles/colombia-farc-guerrillas-make-key-advance-in-peace-talks-1443027656.
[6] Joshua Goodman, Heated Referendum a Big Obstacle to Peace in Colombia, Fox World, Sept. 8 2016, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/8ae021980bca4676889b2b060aed9ca1/heated-referendum-big-obstacle-peace-colombia.
[7] Sibylla Brodzinsky and Dan Robert, John Kerry Holds unprecedented peace talks with Colombian Farc Rebels, the Guardian Mar. 21, 2016, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/22/john-kerry-unprecedented-peace-talks-colombia-farc-rebels-havana.
[8] Id.
[9] Oscar Medina, Colombia Cites Disagreements with FARC as Peace Deadline Missed, Bloomberg, Mar. 23, 2016, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-24/colombia-cites-disagreements-with-farc-as-peace-deadline-missed.
[10] The Associated Press, ‘Yes to peace’: Colombia, Farc rebels reach historic deal to end 5-decade war, CBC News, Aug. 24, 2016, http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/farc-colombia-peace-accord-1.3734814.
[11] Joshua Goodman, Heated Referendum a Big Obstacle to Peace in Colombia, Fox World, Sept. 8 2016, http://bigstory.ap.org/article/8ae021980bca4676889b2b060aed9ca1/heated-referendum-big-obstacle-peace-colombia.
[12] Natalio Cosoy, Colombians voice their views on the peace process, BBC News, Apr. 5, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35963106.
[13] Id.
[14] Colombia Farc: Government negotiator warns over referendum, BBC News, Sept. 14, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-37360948.
[15] Id.
