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Colombian Leaders Try To Revive Peace Deal After Referendum Rejection

October 05, 2016 4:07 AM University students and supporters of the peace deal signed between the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels protest during a rally in front of Congress in Bogota, Colombia, Oct. 3, 2016.



Colombian officials met Tuesday in Cuba with representatives from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for talks to try and save a peace deal, but it is unclear how willing the rebels are to return to the negotiating table.

In addition to the resumed negotiations with the rebels, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos will meet with former president Alvaro Uribe, who led the opposition to the peace deal with FARC. Uribe told a Colombian radio station he was willing to provide input on a way forward to peace with FARC and an end to the country's 52-year-old war.

President Santos said he would extend a cease-fire agreement reached with the rebels to October 31, in an effort to facilitate the negotiations.

"Time is very important. We can't prolong this process and this dialogue for a long time because we're in a gray zone, a sort of limbo, that is risky and can wash away the entire process," he said.

The leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, Rodrigo Londono, who is also known as Timochenko, responded to Santos's offer offer to extend the cease-fire with skepticism.

"And after that the war continues?" the rebel leader said on Twitter.

US praises planned dialogue 

The United Nations also remains fully committed to the peace process and will continue to help the government reach a deal with the rebels, a U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday.

The peace agreement was aimed at formally ending the 52 year-old uprising by the leftist rebels. The guerrilla war in Colombia has killed more than 220,000 people and driven millions from their homes.

But the "no" side campaigned just as vigorously against the deal. 

A renegotiation of the peace deal seems to hinge on whether rebels would accept tougher terms.









