World

Colombia and FARC rebels scramble to revive their peace deal

Supporters of the peace accord between the Colombian government and rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia FARC follow on a giant screen the results of a referendum to decide whether or not to support the peace accord in Bogota Colombia

Both Santos and the Farc say the accord is the best one possible. "The President has shown courageous leadership, courageous because he preferred peace to the inertia of war, courageous because he accepted the decision of the people", said De la Calle.

Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Washington-based Council of the Americas, expects Washington will "take a deep breath" before engaging again on the issues.

The no campaign, led by former president Álvaro Uribe has said the plebiscite results give the government a mandate to renegotiate the accord with the FARC.

In an official statement after the stunning results, the FARC said that they will continue to honor the peace deal's terms and that they hope that an alternative can be found to keep the peace.

The outcome also amounts to a setback for the United States and the Obama Administration, which had backed Santos and pledged to boost USA aid to Colombia by almost 50 per cent, to US$450 million a year. The peace deal that he signed last week was a historic step in the right direction, but many people in Colombia think the deal was too lenient on the rebels.

However, the bilateral ceasefire that was put in place since August would continue according to president Santos.

The former president and backer of Washington's murderous "Plan Colombia" attacked the peace deal - hammered out over four years of delicate negotiations in the Cuban capital Havana - as "full of impunity" to Farc guerillas.

"I've always believed in a wise Chinese proverb, to look for opportunities in any situation".

Bringing Santos and Uribe together might be harder than achieving peace with the FARC.

Still, the outcome left no clear way forward to end a half-century conflict that has claimed more than 260,000 lives.

Lower than expected turnout of just 37.4 percent suggests Colombian leaders may have convinced themselves of the inevitability of a positive result and failed to convince backers of the accord that their votes mattered. The vote was decided by only 0.5 percentage points, with 49.8 percent voting in favor and 50.2 percent voting against. By a very slim margin, they said "No".

While it may sound like a vote to end war is a given, Colombians have their doubts - especially when so many are victims of the five decades-long conflict. "We must also involve the opposition who say they want peace and hear what they think might be the solution".

Associated Press writer Michael Weissenstein in Havana contributed to this report, AP Writer Matti Huuhtanen contributed from Helsinki, Finland.

stayontheblack.com

Colombia and FARC rebels scramble to revive their peace deal