Colombian Government And FARC Rebels Sign New Peace Deal, This Time Skipping Voters

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signed a revised peace agreement with the country’s largest rebel movement on Thursday, making a second attempt within months to end a half-century of hostilities.

Santos and Rodrigo Londono, leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, signed the 310-page accord at Bogota’s historic Colon Theater – nearly two months after the original deal was surprisingly rejected in a referendum. After signing the deal with a pen made from the shell of an assault rifle bullet, they clasped hands to shouts of “Yes we could!” The new agreement is different from the previous one in the following ways:

1. The FARC will have to declare all their assets and hand them over. The money will be used for reparation payments for the victims of the conflict.
2. Concerns by religious groups that the agreement undermined family values have been addressed.
3. A time limit of 10 years has been set for the transitional justice system.
4. FARC rebels will be expected to provide exhaustive information about any drug trafficking they may have been involved in.
5. The peace agreement will not form part of Colombia's constitution.

In his speech, Londono apologised to the victims of the conflict in the name of the FARC, and hailed the new agreement as the common wish of all Colombians to end the war. "Words are the only weapons that Colombians allow us to use," said Londono, who called on the former enemies to co-exist despite their differences.

“In 150 days – only 150 days – all of the FARC’s weapons will be in the hands of the United Nations,” he said during the only part of his speech that drew applause from the audience. Within 90 days after the approval, the FARC will begin to lay down arms. And within five months, all the weapons of the FARC will be in the hands of the UN.