ColombiaColombian government, FARC agree on a new peace deal

The government of Colombia and the leftist FARC guerrillas have agreed on a new peace deal aiming to broaden popular support after Colombian voters, in a referendum on 2 October, narrowly defeated an earlier agreement to end the 52-years conflict.

Government and rebel negotiators announced on Saturday in Havana that they had agreed on a series of modifications to the original accord, addressing objections from a diverse coalition who, under the leadership of former president Alvaro Uribe, actively campaigned against the original deal.

“We have reached a new final accord to end the armed conflict that integrates changes, precisions and proposals suggested by the most diverse sectors of society,” the two sides said in a statement.

The government had insisted that the first agreement was the “best deal possible,” but now admitted updated agreement is much improved. “I humbly recognize that this agreement is better,” Humberto de la Calle, the government’s chief negotiator, said.

“We understood the importance of reformulating [the agreement] with a broader consensus that incorporates many voices that were absent during the negotiating process,” said Iván Márquez, the FARC lead negotiator.

The Chicago Tribune reports that the text of the new agreement was not immediately published, by the president, Juan Manuel Santos, laid out the changes in a televised speech. Some changes are not much more than clarifications of the often vague and overly legalistic language of the original text. Other changes are substantial.

Under the new agreement, FARC commits to declare and hand over all the organization’s assets, to be used to compensate the victims of the conflict. More than 220,000 people were killed in the conflict, and nearly eight million people were forces out of their homes.

The compensation clause was not part of the original accord, but was one of the main demands of the anti-accord campaign.

Much of the opposition to the first agreement stemmed from the fact that the FARC leaders would escape punishment for the many atrocities they have committed over the years, including 26,000 kidnappings. The new agreement more clearly stipulates the kinds of alternative punishment FARC leaders and soldiers will face under a special tribunal which will prosecute war crimes.

The original agreement also guaranteed a certain number of seats for FARC leaders in both the lower and upper chambers of the Colombian parliament – until 2026, when the FARC representation in parliament will depend on its performance in the elections. Critics of the agreement, however, balked at the idea of people who committed atrocities, whether or not there were convicted in court, being able to hold public office. This particular provision remains unchanged in the new deal, and Santos strongly defended it.

“The reason for all peace processes in the world is precisely so that guerrillas leave their arms and can participate in politics legally,” he said.

Observers note that it is not yet clear whether Santos will submit the new agreement to a plebiscite for ratification, or ask congress, where his coalition holds a majority, to approve it.

U.S. secretary of state John Kerry congratulated Colombia on the new deal as an “important step forward,” adding that continued dissent was understandable.

“After fifty-two years of war, no peace agreement can satisfy everyone in every detail,” he said in a statement.

Former president Uribe, who led the No campaign in the referendum, did not immediately react to the new accord other than to say it should be open to review.