After 52 years of war, government and guerrillas present disarmament and justice plan that Colombian voters will be asked to ratify in a plebiscite Colombia’s government has secured a groundbreaking peace deal with leftist Farcrebels – promising to end a war that wracked the country for more than half a century, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions. ...“We have won the most beautiful of all battles:of peace for Colombia. The battle with weapons ends and the battle of ideas begins.” Under the agreement, the government commits to development programmes and addressing gross inequalities in the country’s long-neglected rural sector...the opportunities of political participation to smaller political movements, including the party that a demobilised Farc may create. The Farc agrees to help dismantle and discourage the business of drug crops and trafficking that helped sustain its war financially for the past three decades. Critics say the accord should be renegotiated to include jail time for crimes against humanity and a ban on those convicted of such crimes from holding public office. But in a world wracked by conflict, Colombia had become a sign of hope, said Herbolzheimer. “It shows that no matter how complex a conflict is, if there is political will there is a political solution.”
