The Obama administration, Pope Francis, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and the presidents of Colombia, Cuba, Venezuela and many other countries enthusiastically applauded Colombia’s preliminary agreement with FARC guerrillas to end the five-decade-old armed conflict that has caused more than 220, 000 deaths. But their celebration is way too premature.
First, the preliminary deal may be stalled in Colombia’s Congress. Opposition legislators say that the current deal, which sets a six-month deadline for a final agreement, would need a constitutional reform among other things because the current constitution prohibits people accused of war crimes from running for public office.
While President Juan Manuel Santos has enough votes in Congress to amend the constitution, he may not have the time.
Legal experts estimate that it will take eight rounds of legislative debates that would last at least 14 months to approve a constitutional reform, far beyond the deadline set for the deal’s implementation. And without guarantees that they can run for office, FARC leaders would not lay down their weapons, which would effectively kill or postpone the deal.
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Etiquetas: Colombia, FARC, Juan Manuel Santos
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