CARTAGENA, Colombia (AP) – Colombia will take a big step toward emerging from its long nightmare of bloody violence Monday when the government and the country’s largest rebel movement sign a peace accord that emerged from four hard years of negotiations.
The significance of the deal can’t be overstated: Colombia’s five-decade conflict, partly fueled by the nation’s cocaine trade, has killed more than 220,000 people and driven 8 million from their homes.
Underlining the importance of the day, the pact is being signed by Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and by the top commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a rebel fighter known by the alias Timochenko. Fifteen Latin American presidents, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry are scheduled to witness the signing in the colonial Caribbean city of Cartagena.
The ceremony late Monday afternoon will be charged with symbolism. The more than 2,500 guests have been invited to wear white as a sign of peace, and Santos will put his signature on the 297-page accord with a pen made from a recycled shell used in combat.
The signing won’t close the deal, though. Colombians are being given the final say on endorsing or rejecting the accord in an Oct. 2 referendum. Opinion polls point to an almost-certain victory for the “yes” vote, but some analysts warn that a closer-than-expected finish or low voter turnout could bode poorly for the many challenges the country faces implementing the ambitious accord.