Colombia Peace Deal: Government, FARC Rebel Group Sign Revised Deal To End Violence

Colombia has been going back and forth between the government and FARC rebel group so that both parties can reach a peace settlement. While the first deal was turned down, it is now being reported that both parties have signed a revised peace deal to end the violence.

According to FOX News Latino, Colombia has tried for a second time to broker a deal between the government and the FARC rebel group to end the conflict following the surprise rejection of an earlier peace accord by voters in a referendum.

Over the weekend, Government negotiator Humberto de la Calle and rebel negotiator Ivan Marquez announced the new, modified deal in Havana, moving to end a half-century-long conflict that has claimed more than 220,000 lives and driven almost 8 million people from their homes.

The site reports that the latest agreement is constructed to address some of the concerns of opponents of the original accord, who said the deal was too lenient on a rebel group that had kidnapped and committed war crimes.

"The new deal is an opportunity to clear up doubts, but above all to unite us," said De la Calle, who described the text of the modified accord as "much better" than the previous one. The negotiator didn't say if or how it would be submitted again to voters for approval or to congress.

An initial peace deal was put in place by President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia amid international fanfare after more than four years of negotiations. But unfortunately voters rejected it on Oct. 2 dealing a stunning setback to Santos who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end Colombia's conflict.

"The meetings with the FARC delegation were intense," said De la Calle. "We worked 15 days and nights to reach this new agreement."

De La Calle said some modifications made were related to justice, punishment for combatants accused of war crimes and reparations for the conflict's victims. Detail were also worked out of how and where those responsible for crimes would serve their sentences, addressing complaints by opponents that rebels accused of atrocities would not be imprisoned but submitted to "alternative punishments."

FARC negotiator Marquez said "the implementation of the accord is all that remains for the construction of the bases for peace in Colombia."

Moving forward, hopefully both parties can stick to the agreement and Colombia can become unified.