Duque seeks to change FARC peace deal
BOGOTA: Colombia’s new President Ivan Duque has taken office with no shortage of tough issues to tackle, from heightened tensions with neighbouring Venezuela to the lingering difficulties of peace-building with the nation’s rebel groups.
The right-wing Duque, who is just 42, succeeds Juan Manuel Santos – and could work to undo the deal his predecessor reached with leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas to end a half-century of conflict.
Wearing a sash in the country’s national colours, Duque took the oath of office on Tuesday in Bolivar Square in historic Bogota in the presence of several regional leaders, including Mexico’s Enrique Pena Nieto and Ecuador’s Lenin Moreno.
In his inaugural address, he said he would take steps to fix “structural flaws” in the deal with FARC, without offering concrete details.
“We will deploy corrective measures to ensure that the victims get the truth, proportional justice, reparations – and no repetitions” of the
past, said Duque, a lawyer by training and a former senator.
Duque said he would also take a tougher tack in talks with the country’s last active rebel group, the Marxist ELN, to ensure that a “cred-
ible process” was put in place so that the group would cease all criminal activity within a set time limit.
Colombia’s political left, defeated in June elections, protested as Duque took office, demanding justice for the over 330 rights activists murdered since the December 2016 peace accord with the FARC.
Observers agree that Duque’s success will depend in large part on his connection to popular former president Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010), who handpicked the political novice to help the right – which opposed the FARC deal – regain power.
“His mentor’s situation and relations with Venezuela are the keys” to Duque’s presidency, political scientist Diana Avellaneda from Javeriana University said.
Relations with Caracas took a dive over the weekend when Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro claimed to have been the victim of an “assassination” attempt and put the blame on Santos, “ultra right-wing” domestic opponents and the United States.
Bogota called the accusation “absurd”.
Duque looks set to stand up to Colombia’s neighbour to the east, demanding “free elections” following a May poll that saw Maduro re-elected, which was boycotted by Venezuela’s opposition.