HAVANA // Colombia’s government and the Farc rebels have reached a historic peace agreement to end their half-century civil war that cost hundreds of thousands of lives.
After nearly four years of negotiations in Cuba, the two sides announced a final deal on Wednesday, which president Juan Manuel Santos said would be put to a decisive referendum on October 2.
“The Colombian government and the Farc announce that we have reached a final, full and definitive accord ... on ending the conflict and building a stable and enduring peace,” the two sides said in a joint statement read out in Havana by Cuban diplomat Rodolfo Benitez.
“We don’t want one more victim in Colombia.”
In a national address just after the announcement, president Santos – who has staked his legacy on the peace process – said the deal marked “the end of the suffering, the pain and the tragedy of war”.
He immediately launched his campaign for a “Yes” vote in the referendum, which he said would be the most important election of voters’ lives.
“This is a historic and unique opportunity ... to leave behind this conflict and dedicate our efforts to building a more secure, safe, equitable, educated country, for all of us, for our children and grandchildren,” he said.
Colombians welcomed the announcement with both scepticism and joy, as many took to the streets late on Wednesday night, waving the national flag and carrying balloons emblazoned with the word “yes” to show their support for peace.
“It’s hard to believe that we have lived to see such things, it’s historic for the country,” 24-year-old Marcela Cardenas said, before adding that she believes the transformation will be extremely difficult.
Local television in the city of Barranquilla showed a rapper chanting “Forward with peace, forward!”
The conflict began with the founding of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) in 1964, at a time when leftist guerrilla armies were fighting to sow revolution throughout Latin America.
Over the years, it has killed 260,000 people, uprooted 6.8 million and left 45,000 missing.
Three previous peace processes with the Farc ended in failure.
But after a major offensive by the army from 2006 to 2009 – led by Mr Santos, the defence minister at the time – a weakened Farc agreed to come to the negotiating table.
Farc chief negotiator Ivan Marquez called the accord a new chapter for Colombia.
“We can now say that fighting with weapons ends and with ideas begins,” he said.
* Agence France-Presse
