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Colombia to sign peace pact with FARC

Colombia

The Colombian government and FARC rebels have agreed to sign a revised peace deal after the last one was rejected in a referendum.

The original accord was deemed to favour the leftist group too much.

Terms of the new agreement were published last week, but this time round there will be no public vote.

“Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said in a televised address that the signing of the deal will take place on Thursday in Bogota. He then added that after listening to all the alternative proposals, and in agreement with the FARC, it was clear that the most convenient and legitimate way to vote on the new deal was through Congress.

“Next Thursday, we are going to sign the new deal here in Bogota, in Colón Theatre. After listing all the alternative proposals, and in understanding with the FARC, it is clear that the most convenient and legitimate way to vote this new deal is at the Congress,” he said.

The previous deal was signed in September in front of the head of the UN and other state dignitaries.

But the newly revised document appears to have made only limited changes such as a clarification of private property rights and how rebels are to be confined for crimes committed during the war.

It has already been rejected by Colombia’s opposition who are angry over the lack of a public vote and who want a more radical re-write.
Many including former President Alvaro Uribe want more radical re-write of the deal.

Colombia is signing a peace deal with FARC and is not asking voters this time https://t.co/erBH76QljU pic.twitter.com/85JIUsv4cr

— Newsweek Europe (@NewsweekEurope) November 23, 2016

Peace talks have been underway for the last four years. The five-decades long conflict has killed more than 200,000 and displaced millions.

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