Colombia Referendum: Farc Deal rejected
Colombian voters have rejected the peace deal reached after 4 intensive years of negotiations between the government and the Farc rebels. The deal was cheered by many world leaders and was expected to put an end to 52 years of war with the Communist Farc rebels. The no vote took a lead by just 61,000 voters. The referendum thus suggests that the deal cannot be implemented in its present form. All the polls before the referendum had suggested a yes vote and the President had declared that there is no Plan B and the country will return to war if the deal is rejected. The opposition however, was of the view that the no vote will stand for better terms of the deal with less concessions to the guerrillas. It is seen as a result of years of oppression and anger among the people for the ruling government who want a strict jail term for the rebels and should not be allowed in the political system.
The rebel leader Rodrigo Londono has reiterated his faith in peace and expressed desire the deal gets moving to restore peace in the region. “The farc reaffirms its disposition to use words only as weapon to build toward future”, said the leader. The rebel leaders had made public apologies to the victims of their atrocities. Also, the UN observers had seen destruction of 620 kgs of explosives by the farc in the country. The farc also promised to give details of their assets as compensation to the victims of war.The future is in limbo even though both the government and rebels look forward towards peace. The deal was aimed to disarm 5,800 fighters of farc and as many urban militia members. Farc was to get converted into a political party legally. The deal also provided for rebels to avoid any jail term once they confessed to their crimes like killing, kidnapping, child recruitment etc. Majority of Colombians who voted a no did not want war but a better and a more corrective deal. The terms of the deal were imperfect in many respects but they did guarantee peace in all respects.
Farc Rebels
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army stands for a guerrilla movement which is mired in armed conflict in the country since 1964. Farc is known to use many military tactics to wage war and also unconventional methods of terrorism. FARC-EP came up during the Cold War years and stood for agrarianism and anti-imperialism. It was primarily a Marxist-Leninist peasant force. There primary sources of funds were kidnapping, illegal mining, drug trafficking, extortion etc. They have massive strength with an armed force of 13,800 men and women in 2010 out of which half were guerrilla trained. Many human rights reports have suggested that majority of the recruits are minors and have been forced to join the struggle. They are majorly based towards the southeastern, northern and southwestern regions of Colombia. FARC was the military wing of the Colombian Communist Party and was established when Colombian military attacked rural communist enclaves as a retaliation to The Violence which lasted from 1948-58. FARC stands as a violent non-state actor VNSC whose legitimacy as a combative force is disputed by many government organisations nationally and internationally. Thus, FARC is seen as a terror outfit by governments of nations like Colombia, United States of America, Canada, Chile, New Zealand and even the European Union. However, governments of Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador and Nicaragua have not listed it as a terrorist organisation.
