L a pe aet peace deal takes effect

BOGOTA: A permanent ceasefire is taking effect in Colombia, the latest step in bringing an end to 52 years of bloody combat between the government and the country’s biggest rebel group.

The commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced on Sunday that his fighters would cease hostilities beginning at 12.01am as a result of the peace accord the two sides reached at midweek.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos made a similar announcement on Friday, saying the military would halt attacks on the FARC beginning yesterday.

FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, also known as Timochenko, made his statement in Havana, where rebel and government negotiators spend four years reaching the deal to end one of the world’s longest-running conflicts.

“Never again will parents be burying their sons and daughters killed in the war,” Londono said. “All rivalries and grudges will remain in the past.”

Colombia is expected to hold a national referendum on Oct 2 to give voters the chance to approve the accord, which would end

Never again will parents be burying their sons and daughters killed in the war. All rivalries and grudges will remain in the past. Rodrigo Londono

political violence that has claimed more than 220,000 lives and driven over five million people from their homes over five decades.

Polls say most Colombians loathe the rebel group but will likely endorse the deal anyway.

Top FARC commanders plan to gather one last time in mid-September to ratify the deal.

Under the 297-page accord, FARC guerrillas need to turn over their weapons within six months after the deal is formally signed.

FARC’s still unnamed future political movement will be given at least 10 congressional seats for two legislative terms. — AP