[ARCHIVO] The President on the Signing of the Peace Accord between Colombia and the FARC: “This is a historic and very exciting moment.”
President of Chile Michelle Bachelet and Minister of Foreign Affairs Heraldo Muñoz attended the historic signing of the peace accord that ends the conflict between the Colombian government and the FARC rebel group. The act took place at the Palacio de las Convenciones in Havana, Cuba.
During the event, the President said, “This is a historic and very exciting moment. The 52 year-old conflict in Colombia has meant, as we have heard, a great deal of pain and many lost lives for Colombia. Reaching this stage, this level of accord, which has brought about the end of the armed conflict, the laying down of arms, and a very clear timeline for implementation, will ensure that, as President Santos said, Colombians can live in peace for the first time and learn to enjoy peace. I believe that this is something truly historic.”
In addition to Michelle Bachelet, the act was attended by the following national leaders: Raúl Castro of Cuba; Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia; Nicolás Maduro of Venezuela; Danilo Medina of the Dominican Republic; Salvador Sánchez of El Salvador; and Enrique Peña Nieto of Mexico. In addition, the leader of the FARC, Rodrigo Lodoño, was present along with the Foreign Minister of Norway, Borge Brende, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
The President also stated that, “This is marvelous for Colombia, but it is also great for the entire region. Our region, which is generally a region of peace, can now continue to guarantee that all of the Americas will be a region of peace.”
During the negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC, Chile participated as a companion nation along with Venezuela. Cuba and Norway were the guarantor nations of the accord.
Bachelet noted that, “For me, as President of my country, I am also very proud that Chile has been a companion nation throughout this entire process.”
The President explained that, “We have moved past a very important stage, but the realization and implementation of the accord are still to come.” She added that, “Chile will continue to stand by Colombia. We have made this commitment at the request of the Secretary General and the Chief of Political Operations.”
As she finished her remarks, Bachelet said that, “A group of members of our Armed Forces will be present during the initial stage and we have committed to increasing that number to 75 members in order to ensure that the peace accords are respected in each of these areas.”