Colombians march to demand peace (Oct. 6, 2016)
Tens of thousands of Colombians -- as many as 30 thousand in Bogotá and hundreds in Baranquilla and Cali -- marched yesterday in support of the peace process with the FARC, dealt a harsh blow by last weekend's plebiscite in which voters narrowly rejected a long-negotiated accord. (See Monday's and yesterday's posts.)
The "March for Peace" was organized by student groups and social organizations. Many walked in silence holding candles or white flags, while others held pictures of conflict victims, reports the Associated Press. Such a turnout is rare in Colombia, where marches are rare, according to the AP.
Such popular pressure is an important message to politicians to find a way past the impasse presented by Sunday's polarized vote, argues Rodrigo Uprimny in an interview with Semana.
While the country's political leadership and the FARC attempt to figure out how to salvage the process -- held together tenuously by a bilateral ceasefire for now -- social groups are discussing raising 20 million signatures to ratify the peace accord rejected on Sunday, reports La Silla Vacía.
Yesterday, Colombian President Juan Manuel Uribe and his political adversary, former President Álvaro Uribe, met for over four hours -- an attempt to find common ground on how to move forward. Uribe came with leaders of the anti-pact campaign: former President Andrés Pastrana, former prosecutor Alejandro Ordóñez, and former minister Marta Lucía Ramírez, reports El Tiempo.
Though neither divulged specifics, Santos said “we are very close to reaching peace” and that "with responsibility and celerity we’ll achieve it," reports the Financial Times. Uribe said he "laid out adjustments and initial proposals that should be introduced in the texts" of the accord signed with the FARC ,reports the Wall Street Journal. He called the accord weak, and said an agreement was needed for the entire population, not half, reports the BBC.
But while the meeting -- the first between the two former allies turned rivals since 2010 -- was charged with symbolism, there was no "white smoke," writes La Silla Vacía, still no hint how to get a peace accord out of the wreckage.
In the meantime its unclear whether the FARC will be receptive to a renegotiation of terms. So far they've said they don't want the agreement reopened, but have voiced a commitment to peace, reports the Miami Herald. The leadership has instructed forces -- some of which had already begun preparing to go to the concentration zones detailed in the accord -- to sit tight. Yet the limbo of the moment is raising practical questions, such as how the guerrilla troops will be sustained while the situation is sorted out, notes la Silla Vacía. (Apparently they have supplies for about two more weeks, though it looks like the government will step in afterwards.)
News Briefs
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