Colombians hit their Government with a shock defeat when they voted by a razor-thin majority to reject a historic peace deal with communist FARC rebels, prompting the government to say that it will sustain its efforts to end the country’s half-century civil war.
Resentful of the blood shed by the leftist guerrillas and the immunity the accord offers many of them from prosecution, voters on Sunday rejected the historic deal, defying the Government and flying in the face of opinion polls.
The result threw Colombia’s future into uncertainty. The sides spent four years negotiating the deal and agreed it must be ratified in a referendum — but there was no Plan B in the event of a “No” vote.
President Juan Manuel Santos admitted defeat, but pledged: “I will not give in, and I will continue to seek peace to the last day of my term.”
FARC chief Rodrigo londono, alias Timoleon “Timochenko” Jimenez, vowed his side was also committed to continuing peace efforts. He said its ceasefire remained in force.
“The FARC deeply deplores that the destructive power of those who sow hatred and resentment has influenced the Colombian people’s opinion,” he said in Havana, Cuba, where the accord was negotiated.
“The people of Colombia who dream of peace can count on us. Peace will triumph.”
Also “very disappointed” was Borge Brende, foreign affairs minister of Norway, one of the countries actively supporting the peace process.