SDLP Foyle MP Mark Durkan has welcomed the news that the Colombian government and FARC rebels have agreed to lay down arms as they approach the end of historic peace talks in Cuba.
Details of the bilateral ceasefire will be made public later today and a final peace deal could be signed by 20 July – ending five decades of armed conflict in which an estimated 220,000 people have been killed.
Today’s meeting will be chaired by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Timoleon Jimenez – also known as ‘Timochenko’.
They will be joined by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Cuban leader Raul Castro and the Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende, who are representing guarantor countries.
Mr Durkan has visited Colombia and Cuba on a number of occasions in recent years to support a new peace deal – including meeting with senior government representatives and FARC leader Timochenko.
He said: “I welcome the positive news of a bilateral ceasefire, but have to respect the details which still have to be negotiated.
“While it is important that there is agreement between the Colombian government and FARC, we have to recognise the other democratic interests which need inclusion and input in the crucial stages ahead.
“Many in civil society and in opposition democratic parties want to play their part in helping to ensure that this becomes a transformative process which will emancipate new democratic opportunities, enhance the rights of all, and improve economic and social conditions.
“The international community cannot just applaud this welcome announcement and assume that progress will roll along on the wheels of inevitability.
“We need to support all of Colombia’s democratic interests in sensitively finalising the necessary details to give greater confidence around the future interpretation and implementation of agreement reached.
“People whose rights and safety have been violated and threatened will want confidence about adherence to the agreement and security for their people as paramilitaries continue to threaten them in defence of corrupt and vested interests.
“All the negotiators are to be congratulated and commended on what has been achieved. They and other civic and democratic interests in Colombia now need encouragement and the international community’s best support in navigating the challenges and opportunities ahead.”
