Santos urges peace as FARC take seats
BOGOTA: Colombian former FARC guerrillas took their seats in Congress on Friday as part of an agreement that ended five decades of war, and outgoing President Juan Manuel Santos urged the nation to protect the nascent peace and put an end to violence.
At the opening of the new Congress, one-time fighters for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) filed into the lower house where they prepared to be sworn in collectively along with other members of the two chambers.
Under the terms of the 2016 peace deal between the FARC and the government, the group formed a political party, kept its famous acronym as the Revolutionary Alternative Common Force, and was awarded five seats each in the 108-member Senate and the 172-member lower house through 2026.
“Today we are witnessing a true milestone in our history,” said Santos, who won a Nobel Peace prize for his efforts to end the war, in his final address to Congress before leaving office on August 7.
“Many - we must admit it - don’t like seeing them in this place of debate and civility,” Santos said.
“In my case, and I’m sure it’s shared by millions of Colombians, it fills me with satisfaction that those who for more than half a century fought with arms against the state and its institutions, today submit to the Constitution and the laws of Colombia, as we all do.
“Welcome to this temple of democracy!”
Ivan Duque
Right-wing President-elect Ivan Duque will replace Santos next month and seek to guide key economic reforms - pension and tax through the new Congress.
He will also try and adjust the peace accords.
Full story @ timesofoman.com/world