- Title: 'No' camp celebrates after Colombians narrowly reject peace deal with FARC
- Date: 2nd October 2016
- Summary: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA (OCTOBER 02, 2016) (REUTERS) POLITICIAN AND "NO" CAMPAIGNER, FRANCISCO SANTOS, HUGGING PEER IN CELEBRATION "NO" VOTERS HUGGING A WOMAN WEARING A T-SHIRT READING (IN SPANISH): "COLOMBIA NO, I VOTE NO" REPORTERS INTERVIEWING SANTOS (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) POLITICIAN AND "NO" CAMPAIGNER, FRANCISCO SANTOS, SAYING: "The 'no' victory is a victory for peace with justice, it is a victory for a peace with pardon and reconciliation, the triumph of the 'no' is the triumph of a more inclusive peace, peace which includes us all, a more stable peace. To the FARC I say, 'Keep calm, because we are going to guarantee that this process is concluded, that we are going to work and put in place all the guarantees, because you have already made the path, now we have to do our part,' which is to say where we are going to reopen talks to negotiate this with them." STICKER ON A CAR WINDOW READING (IN SPANISH): "FOR REAL COLOMBIA VOTES NO" NO VOTERS STANDING BY CAR NO VOTERS GREETING EACH OTHER
- Embargoed: 18th October 2016 00:19
- Keywords: Colombia FARC peace no Francisco Santos
- Location: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
- City: BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
- Country: Colombia
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Military Conflicts
- Reuters ID: LVA00152BBN0N
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Colombians narrowly rejected a peace deal with Marxist insurgents on Sunday (October 2), plunging the nation into uncertainty and handing a major defeat to President Juan Manuel Santos, who had staked his reputation on ending the 52-year war.
Before the referendum, Santos, 53, said he had no Plan B and would return Colombia to war if the "no" vote won.
Opinion polls had shown he would comfortably win and then be able to start implementing the deal painstakingly negotiated in Cuba over the past four years to end the longest-running conflict in the Americas.
But Colombian voters confounded that forecast as the "no" camp won with a tiny margin of 50.23 percent to 49.76 as votes were counted from 99.59 percent of voting stations.
Speaking at a small celebration in Bogota, politician and "no" campaigner, Francisco Santos, said the process was not over.
"The 'no' victory is a victory for peace with justice, it is a victory for a peace with pardon and reconciliation, the triumph of the 'no' is the triumph of a more inclusive peace, peace which includes us all, a more stable peace. To the FARC I say, 'Keep calm, because we are going to guarantee that this process is concluded, that we are going to work and put in place all the guarantees, because you have already made the path, now we have to do our part,' which is to say where we are going to reopen talks to negotiate this with them," said Santos.
Opponents of the pact believed it was too soft on the FARC rebels by allowing them to re-enter society, form a political party and escape traditional jail sentences.
Sunday's vote had asked for a simple "yes" or "no" on whether Colombians supported the accord signed last Monday by Santos and the rebel commander known as Timochenko.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC, whose numbers were halved to about 7,000 in recent years because of a U.S.-backed military offensive, had agreed to turn in weapons and fight for power at the ballot box instead.
Influential former President Alvaro Uribe led the "no" camp, arguing that rebels should pay for crimes in jail and never be given congressional seats.
Under the accord, the FARC, which began as a peasant revolt in 1964, would have been able to compete in the 2018 presidential and legislative elections and have 10 unelected congressional seats guaranteed through 2026. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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