海角大神

Why Colombia's opposition party will against the FARC peace deal

Much of the Colombian public remains uneasy about provisions allowing perpetrators of war crimes to avoid jail time.

Colombia鈥檚 government and the FARC rebel group signed a peace deal on Monday in the city of Cartagena in the penultimate step of a process that would end the armed conflict between the two parties. The deal goes now to a 鈥測es or no鈥� vote to be held on Oct. 2, when the Colombian public will get the chance to approve or reject it.

Proponents of the accord have reason to feel confident. found that of Colombians who answered that they would 鈥渄efinitely鈥� cast a ballot in the referendum, about 67 percent said that they vote in favor of the deal, compared to 32 percent who would reject it. And all but one of the many parties holding power in Colombia鈥檚 legislature want the public to vote 鈥測es.鈥澛�

The sole holdout, however 鈥� Centro Democr谩tico 鈥� is led by the most powerful members of the conservative opposition, including the popular ex-president Alvaro Uribe, the loudest voice of criticism throughout the peace process. Mr. Uribe and others to meet the FARC (The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia)聽in its demands for social reforms, while allowing rebels to avoid jail time for war crimes committed during the conflict, among a long list of other qualms. And they claim that voting 鈥渘o鈥� wouldn鈥檛 hurl the country back into conflict, but allow a Centro Democr谩tico-led government to renegotiate a better deal.

鈥淭hose of us on the 'no' side also want peace,鈥� , 鈥渙nly we think that there won鈥檛 be any at all without justice.鈥�

Human rights groups have criticized the accord in similar terms, although they point to war crimes committed not just by the FARC, but also by government forces and paramilitary groups linked to past administrations, including that of Uribe.

鈥淭he agreement sets out a regime of sanctions 鈥� that do not reflect accepted standards of appropriate punishment for grave violations and make it virtually impossible that Colombia will meet its binding obligations under international law to ensure accountability for crimes against humanity and war crimes,鈥�

Still, the presence of victims鈥� groups at the table during peace talks 鈥� and their attitude of reconciliation rather than vengeance 鈥� was one of the negotiations鈥� keys to success, as 海角大神 noted in an August听别诲颈迟辞谤颈补濒:

During the talks, victims鈥� groups were at the table and were key to setting a tone of contrition on both sides, and then advocating for a method of justice. To the surprise of the government, the victims were more interested in ending the war, learning the truth about their lost family members, and obtaining reparations than in imposing harsh penalties on those involved in violence.

As a result, the deal calls for those who confess to war crimes and participate in reparations to be given up to eight years of 鈥渞estriction of liberty.鈥� They will also be eventually allowed to participate in politics. Those who deny their war acts and are proven guilty could be sentenced to 20 years of prison. These crucial details are designed to abide by Colombia鈥檚 Constitution as well as its obligations under international law.

But the notion that the deal amounts to impunity for perpetrators of war crimes 鈥� including those associated with the government and right-wing groups 鈥� may resonate with many Colombians. Some 57 percent of the public disagrees with a provision allowing the FARC to rejoin electoral politics after it lays down its arms, . And a full quarter of the public say they either 鈥減robably鈥� or 鈥渄efinitely鈥� won鈥檛 cast a vote at all on the referendum, with another 20 percent saying they don鈥檛 know if they will or not.

鈥淚鈥檓 concerned 鈥� that abstentionism is gaining terrain,鈥� said Jaime Duarte, professor at Bogota鈥檚 Externado University, . 鈥淢ore than that, I would say that it鈥檚 serious for a society to be so indifferent to its future.鈥�