Comment on A Colombian general's journey to peace with rebels

A Colombian general's journey to peace with rebels

The transformation began when President Juan Manuel Santos two years ago asked Florez to give up his position as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the armed forces' No. 2 position. The cease-fire component negotiated by Florez sets out a detailed protocol by which the FARC will mobilize its troops to 28 rural areas across Colombia and over six months gradually turn over their weapons to a United Nations-led mission of international observers. Key to the accord, Florez said, was guaranteeing the FARC will be treated with dignity and not as a surrendering force despite the widespread contempt many Colombians hold for the group over its past involvement in drug trafficking, kidnapping and bombing of civilian targets. Over coffee breaks and leisurely walks at the convention center in Havana where talks took place, he began to understand that Lozada faced many of the same pressures from inside the FARC not to cede too much to the government. Under the deal, both rebels and soldiers who committed abuses in the line of duty will have to confess their crimes to special peace tribunals or face up to 20 years in prison.

 

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