USA TODAY International Edition

Colombia, rebels reach historic peace accord

Government, factions end 50 years of war that killed thousands

- Alan Gomez MIAMI

The longest- running armed conflict in the Western Hemisphere is coming to a close as the Colombian government reached a historic peace accord with rebel leaders Wednesday in Havana.

Negotiator­s read out a joint statement in Cuba, which has hosted most of the talks, after the final round of negotiatio­ns between the leaders of the Colombian government and the Revolution­ary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC.

“The terminatio­n of armed confrontat­ion signifies, most importantl­y, the end of the enormous suffering the conflict has caused,” the joint statement said. “We do not want there to be one more victim in Colombia. The end of the conflict will open a new chapter in our history.”

The two sides have battled for five decades in the remote corners of Colombia’s jungles and mountains, leaving more than 220,000 Colombians dead, forcing 360,000 to flee the country and displacing about 6.7 million Colombians from their homes, according to the United Nations.

President Obama called Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Wednesday to congratula­te him on the historic deal and to pledge U. S. support as the country navigates the difficult road of implementi­ng the peace plan.

The peace accord must be certified in a national referendum, which will ask voters to approve or reject the deal.

Adam Isacson, who has visited and studied Colombia for nearly 20 years for the Washington Office on Latin America, said Colombians showed their approval of the peace talks when they reelected Santos in the 2014 presi- dential election over Óscar Iván Zuluaga, an outspoken opponent of the negotiatio­ns.

“Santos was re- elected in a referendum on the peace process,” Isacson said.

Colombia’s struggling economy and rising crime since then have driven down Santos’ popularity.

If voters reject the peace deal, Isacson said, the country will be forced to start from scratch.

Even if the agreement passes, Colombia faces a difficult road toward reconcilia­tion.

“It’s not a one- year issue to be solved, but a 20- year issue to work day by day, year by year,” Rafael Pardo, a Santos adviser who will direct post- conflict efforts, said during a recent trip to Washington.

Pardo said 25 national agencies will work with each Colombian state and municipali­ty to implement the various pieces of the peace deal.

That includes disarming rebels who dominate more than 100 cities and moving them to 23 temporary “normalizat­ion zones” and eight rural encampment­s to begin their reintegrat­ion to Colombian society.

The process will be monitored by a team of United Nations observers, mostly coming from other South American countries.

The deal requires that farmers, whether they’re affiliated with the FARC or not, eliminate all remaining coca plants, which have fueled the cocaine industry in Colombia.

 ?? LUIS ROBAYO, AFP, GETTY IMAGES ?? Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos speaks to an audience during the first day of the campaign “Pedagogy for Peace” to inform people about the peace talks between the government and the FARC guerrillas in Cali, Colombia.
LUIS ROBAYO, AFP, GETTY IMAGES Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos speaks to an audience during the first day of the campaign “Pedagogy for Peace” to inform people about the peace talks between the government and the FARC guerrillas in Cali, Colombia.

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