Colombian Government And FARC Sign New Peace Deal After Referendum Rejection

Colombian authorities have signed a new peace accord with FARC rebels after the previous agreement was rejected in a national referendum in October. The new deal was agreed in Havana, Cuba on Saturday and includes contributions from sectors opposed to the original treaty.

The new document was signed by the chief negotiator for the government, Humberto de la Calle, and Ivan Marquez for the FARC, who have headed nine days of intensive meetings in the Cuban capital to reach a new agreement to "obtain a stable, lasting peace".

The latest deal includes "changes, detailed explanations and contributions from the most diverse sectors of society, which were reviewed one by one”, said the statement read out by the ambassadors of the accord's guarantee nations, Cuba and Norway.

"Building a stable, lasting peace is the goal of this new agreement and should be the common commitment of all Colombians, a commitment that will help overcome polarisation and guarantee the acceptance of all political and social convictions," the statement read.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Saturday called an urgent meeting with predecessor Alvaro Uribe, who was the staunchest opponent of the earlier peace deal. The earlier deal signed last September was hailed internationally and led to Santos being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month.

The original treaty, which was aimed at bringing an end to Colombia's decades-old armed conflict, was rejected by Colombians in a referendum on 2 October for being too lenient on the guerillas.

Although leaders of Colombia and FARC deserve credits for ushering in peace, one name missing from the list is Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who played an important part in the process. During his visit to Cuba, Sri Sri had several rounds of discussions with leaders of the FARC for the peace process in Colombia. Sri Sri had also met President Santos on 23 June in Bogota.

With inputs from IANS.