BOGOTA (Reuters) – Colombia’s government and Marxist guerrillas scrambled yesterday to revive a plan to end their 52-year war after voters rejected the hard-negotiated deal as too lenient on the rebels in a shock referendum result that plunged the nation into uncertainty.
Any renegotiated peace accord now seems to depend on whether the Revolu-tionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) could accept tougher sanctions against them.
“No” voters, who narrowly won Sunday’s plebiscite, want assurances the rebels will hand in cash from drugs, spend time in jail, and earn their political future at the ballot box rather than get guaranteed, unelected seats in Congress.
Both President Juan Manuel Santos and Rodrigo Londono, the top FARC commander better known by his nom de guerre Timochenko, put a brave face on the referendum setback after four years of negotiations in Havana between their teams.
They vowed to maintain a ceasefire and keep working together, even though that could be another lengthy and complicated process. “I will keep seeking peace until the last minute of my term,” said Santos, who leaves office in mid-2018.
In a statement, the FARC said it would “remain faithful” to the accord signed last week with the government and called on Colombians to mobilize peacefully to support terms of the existing agreement.
Members of the opposition, headed by powerful former president Alvaro Uribe, will meet with the government to try and salvage the accord, Santos said yesterday in a televised address.
