BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos and Marxist FARC rebel leader Rodrigo Londono signed a revised peace accord on Thursday in a far more sober ceremony than a first deal rejected last month by millions at a plebiscite.

As they inked the pact with a pen made from a bullet at a historic Bogota theater, onlookers chanted “We did it!”

The new accord to end 52 years of war in Latin America’s fourth-largest economy was put together in just over a month after the original pact was narrowly and unexpectedly defeated in an Oct. 2 referendum for being too lenient on the rebels.

The government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) worked together in Cuba for four years to negotiate an end to the region’s longest-running conflict that has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions in the Andean nation.

“It’s final!” said Santos, standing before white banners of peace and Colombia’s red, yellow and blue flag

“I invite you to leave decades of violence forever in the past, to unite for all of us, for Colombia, for this dear nation, and to work together for reconciliation around shared ideals of peace.”

Opposition leader and former President Alvaro Uribe spearheaded the push to reject the original accord and wanted deeper changes to the new version.

Opponents to the first deal are furious Santos will ratify the new deal in Congress instead of holding another vote and is urging street protests.

Santos had always promised Colombians would have the final word in a referendum, but is sidestepping that for the revised deal.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos and Marxist FARC rebel leader Rodrigo Londono, known as Timochenko, shake hands after signing a peace accord in Bogota, Colombia November 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jaime Saldarriaga

After the signing, he sent the deal straight to Congress for a vote next week. The government’s majority means approval is likely to be speedy.

FROM ARMS TO POLITICS

The signing ceremony marked a six-month countdown for the 7,000-strong FARC to abandon weapons and form a political party.

Despite widespread relief at an end to conflict, many among Colombia’s largely conservative residents are angry because, like the original agreement, the new deal will not jail FARC leaders who committed crimes like kidnappings and massacres, and it allows them to hold political office.

“As a party without weapons, the FARC can present its political project. It will be Colombians who support or reject it with a vote,” said 65-year-old Santos.

The understated signing in the 131-year-old Teatro Colon before mostly government and local dignitaries was a far cry from the fanfare celebration in September, where the coastal city of Cartagena hosted world leaders.

Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last month for his peace efforts, wants to get the deal in place as quickly as possible to maintain a fragile bilateral ceasefire.

“For the good of the nation, let us make words the only weapon Colombians are permitted to use,” said Londono, 57, who is known by his nom de guerre Timochenko.

The expanded and highly complex new 310-page document makes only small modifications to the original text, such as clarifying private property rights and detailing more fully how the rebels would be confined in rural areas for crimes committed during the war.

Slideshow (4 Images)

The FARC, which began as a rebellion fighting rural poverty, has battled a dozen governments as well as right-wing paramilitary groups.

An end to the war with the FARC is unlikely to end violence in Colombia as the lucrative cocaine business has given rise to criminal gangs and traffickers.</s>In this Thursday photo, women hug during a rally in support of the peace process with rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, a few blocks from the venue where Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos and top FARC rebel leader Rodrigo Londono signed a revised peace pact, in Bogota, Colombia. An original accord ending the half-a-century of conflict was rejected by voters in a referendum last month

This comes less than two months after plebiscite narrowly rejected original deal that took four years to negotiate

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Rodrigo Londono, signed a revised peace agreement here on Thursday.

This came less than two months after a plebiscite narrowly rejected the original agreement, which took four years to negotiate, Xinhua news agency reported.

In his speech, Londono apologised to the victims of the conflict in the name of the FARC, and hailed the new agreement as the common wish of all Colombians to end the war.

“Words are the only weapons that Colombians allow us to use,” said Mr. Londono, who called on the former enemies to coexist despite their differences.

Mr. Santos said the revised agreement was the result of a rigorous discussion between the government and FARC, who had gathered for weeks in Havana, Cuba, to consider proposals to those who opposed the first peace agreement.

Mr. Santos stated that peace must be the most important topic for any nation and that Colombia should become an example in a world riven by conflicts.

“Building a country at peace is the most ambitious and transformational project that any generation has ever had the opportunity to fulfil. I cannot imagine a more noble, a more sublime task, a more elevated effort than protecting life and building peace,” he stated.

Unlike the previous agreement, this new deal will not be subject to a public vote but will have to be approved by Congress over the course of the next week.

Within 90 days after the approval, the FARC will begin to lay down arms. And within five months, all the weapons of the FARC will be in the hands of the United Nations.</s>(CNN) The rebel leader waved his arms in the air as the crowd cheered. The President smiled at the audience, holding a pen made from bullets.

It was a moment of diplomatic deja-vu. Thursday marked the second time this year that Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño have signed a peace deal aimed at ending Latin America's longest war.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the head of the FARC guerrilla group, Rodrigo Londoño, shake hands during the second signing of a historic peace agreement.

In October, Colombian voters rejected the first version of the agreement in a national referendum, sending negotiators back to the table.

This time, the revised peace agreement will go to Congress for approval.

And it's likely to pass, since Santos' coalition holds the balance of power in the legislative body.

"This new accord is better than the one we signed in Cartagena," Santos said after signing the deal Thursday. "It is better because we picked the hopes and observations of the majority of the people."

In Thursday's ceremony, the leaders used the same pen they had used to sign the deal the last time around -- made from recycled bullets once used in the conflict.

On Thursday, the crowd chanted, "Yes, it was possible!" after the deal was signed.

Londoño, better known by his alias, Timochenko, began a speech Thursday with a declaration of peace: "Let words be the only weapons of Colombians."

He went on to thank the Roman Catholic Church, the countries that were involved in years of peace talks and even US President-elect Donald Trump.

"The people of this country are tired of violence, intolerance and stigmas," he said. "They want and demand profound change from the political customs that are corruption, lies, and deceit."

Critics say changes are cosmetic

The conflict between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the government has gone on for more than half a century and claimed more than 220,000 lives.

Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year for "his resolute efforts" to end the civil war, which is the longest running conflict in the region.

But critics are already slamming the new deal.

Alejandro Ordóñez, Colombia's former inspector general, called the revised peace deal a "Revlon accord." He told the Blu radio station that officials only added makeup to the original agreement and are "ignoring the people's will."

"It needs to be the people who have the last word," he said, "not Congress."</s>Colombia's government and FARC guerrillas will sign a new peace accord on Thursday, after a previous agreement to end their half-century-old war was defeated in a referendum, both parties said.

The new, revised accord will be submitted to Congress for approval, rather than put to another referendum, they added.

Last month voters taking part in that referendum surprisingly snubbed the first accord. Critics said it went too easy on the rebels, who have been waging what is now Latin America's last major insurgency.

“The government and FARC delegations have agreed to sign the final agreement to end the conflict and build a stable and lasting peace,” negotiators from both sides said in a statement on Tuesday.

The new accord was first announced on November 12, 2016. The signing will take place at 11 a.m. (9.30 p.m. IST) at the Colon Theatre in Bogota.

The accord will later be submitted to Congress for its approval, the two sides said.

“We are working out the procedures necessary for this,” they said.

The government holds a majority in the legislature.

President Juan Manuel Santos insists the new proposal is stronger and takes into account changes demanded by his political opponents.

However his chief rival, ex-President Alvaro Uribe, has rejected even the revised deal.

Mr. Uribe has insisted, for instance, that FARC leaders should not be allowed to run for office while still serving sentences for atrocities.

“Whether the entire (current) text is voted on, or just the issues that have been sensitive and where there has been no agreement, we ought to do it by national referendum,” Mr. Uribe said.

A two-way ceasefire between the government and the FARC has been in force since August 2016. But the sides have warned it is fragile.

“It is urgent that we move to the second phase of regrouping the FARC” for their demobilisation, he said.

He spoke after an urgent meeting with top officials to tackle a recent wave of alleged political killings in southern Colombia.

Fears for the ceasefire had already risen last week when two FARC guerrillas were killed in what authorities said was a clash with the army.

Mr. Uribe has offered to meet with the FARC. But the force rejected that proposal, branding Mr. Uribe an obstacle to peace.

“Uribe misgoverned, corrupted and caused bloodshed in Colombia for eight years” when he was in office to 2010, said one of the FARC’s commanders, Pablo Catatumbo, on Twitter.

“He has never wanted peace, only the defeat of the FARC, which he couldn't achieve.”</s>Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos gives a press conference at the Santa Fe clinic in Bogota, Colombia, Monday, Nov. 21, 2016. Santos said he will undergo radiation to treat high levels of a prostate-specific antigen that his doctors say don’t represent a return of cancer. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia's government and leftist rebels say they will sign a modified peace agreement Thursday despite strong resistance from former President Alvaro Uribe.

The signing ceremony promises to be a more subdued event than the heavily symbolic one attended by several heads of state in September in the colonial city of Cartagena. Reflecting the more somber mood in the country after the original deal was narrowly rejected by voters in a referendum, it will be held at the tiny Colon theater in downtown Bogota.

The decision to sign the accord and submit it to congress for approval was agreed to Tuesday by government peace negotiators and leaders of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia during a day of closed-door meetings at a heavily guarded Roman Catholic retreat in Bogota.

It followed a seven-hour meeting Monday night in which government negotiators tried to persuade Uribe and other skeptics to support the accord that would put an end to a half-century of fighting with the FARC

Ever since the original deal's defeat at the polls, the FARC and government negotiators have worked around the clock introducing some 50-plus changes to make it more acceptable to conservative Colombians who overwhelmingly despise the FARC

Uribe, a still popular figure who has led opposition to the peace deal, said Tuesday that the changes are cosmetic and that the accord, if implemented, represents a risk for Colombia's democracy because it doesn't go far enough in punishing rebels who committed atrocities.

He requested a meeting with the FARC leadership to discuss his concerns, an encounter that seemed unlikely.

"Uribe governed badly, corrupted and bled Colombia during eight years and never wanted peace. He wanted to defeat the FARC, but he couldn't," FARC commander Pablo Catatumbo, one of the rebel commanders in Bogota, wrote on his Twitter account.

President Juan Manuel Santos has made clear there is no more room for negotiation. In a joint government-FARC statement Tuesday, negotiators said they were still working on the procedures that would be used for ratification in congress, where the government coalition has a solid majority. Uribe had been pushing for another referendum, which he expressed confidence would again vote down the accord.

The standoff comes amid concerns that a delicate cease-fire could unravel unless implementation begins soon. Last week, two suspected FARC fighters were killed in combat with security forces in a confusing incident now being reviewed by United Nations monitors.

The FARC are also angry over the killings of several land reform activists and human rights defenders, three over the past weekend alone. Santos on Tuesday convened a meeting with top officials and the U.N. human rights envoy in Colombia to discuss the killings.

The recent murders "are palpable, dramatic evidence of the risks and uncertainty that exists around the implementation of the peace accord," Santos said after the meeting.</s>Santos, who announced the new deal in a televised address late Tuesday, said the signed pact would need to go to Congress for approval.

Santos' coalition holds the balance of power in Congress so the deal is likely to pass.

Santos met on Monday with former president Alvaro Uribe Velez, who took a leading role in the campaign against the previous deal. The two spent six hours discussing the agreement.

"Lives have been lost and many more lives are at risk. We couldn't forgive ourselves if we hadn't acted promptly and firmly to correct that situation. We need to act. There's no time to waste," Santos said in a televised statement, adding the deal would be signed at the Teatro Colon in Bogota. Santos made clear that the government wanted to avoid another plebiscite. "The immense majority of the sectors of civil society, the youth, the church and political sectors have indicated their concern of a new plebiscite. A new campaign would polarize the country in a dangerous way, and this is a moment for union and not division. I am in agreement with them. My job as President is to promote union, not polarization," Santos said. Colombians celebrate as the results of a referendum in October were announced, rejecting a peace deal with FARC rebels. Uribe had argued the previous deal offered impunity to FARC fighters, accusing Santos of conceding to FARC demands. "Although the President of the republic calls us radicals, we have accepted that in other areas there were modifications which we have thought convenient and we have said that there is a third category of issues that could be adjusted here in Congress," Uribe told Colombian news network RCN. "The serious thing is that the government does not give in to impunity to drug trafficking." The civil conflict that has carried on for half a century has brought terror, misery and death to generations of Colombians, claiming more than 220,000 lives. More than 5 million people in a country of 47 million have been displaced. Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this year for "his resolute efforts" to end the country's civil war.</s>The new agreement to end 52 years of war was put together in just over a month after the original document was narrowly and unexpectedly defeated in an Oct. 2 referendum for being too lenient on the insurgent group.

The government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have been in talks in Havana, Cuba for the last four years, hammering out a deal to end a conflict that has killed more than 220,000 and displaced millions in the Andean nation.

Opposition leader and former President Alvaro Uribe spearheaded the push to reject the original accord and wants deeper changes to the new version. He is furious that Santos will ratify the deal in Congress instead of holding another referendum and has called for street protests and may boycott congressional debate on the new deal.

The signing ceremony marks the six-month countdown for the 7,000-strong rebel movement to abandon their weapons and form a political party.

Many of Colombia's largely conservative residents are outraged because, like the original agreement, the new document offers no jail time for FARC leaders who committed war crimes like kidnappings and massacres, and it allows them to hold political office.

The understated signing in Bogota's Teatro Colon before mostly government and local dignitaries is a far cry from the celebration in September, where the coastal city of Cartagena hosted world leaders and United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

Santos, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last month for his efforts to end the conflict with the insurgent group, wants to get the deal in place as quickly as possible to prevent risk to the fragile bilateral ceasefire.

The expanded and highly complex new 310-page document makes only small modifications to the original text, such as clarifying private property rights and detailing more fully how the rebels would be confined in rural areas for crimes committed during the war.

The FARC, which began as a rebellion fighting rural poverty, has battled a dozen governments as well as right-wing paramilitary groups.

An end to the war with the FARC is unlikely to end violence in Colombia as the lucrative cocaine business has given rise to dangerous criminal gangs and traffickers.</s>BOGOTA: Colombia’s government and FARC rebels will sign a controversial revised peace accord Thursday to end their half-century conflict, which is set to be ratified despite bitter complaints from opponents.

Under pressure for fear that a fragile ceasefire could break down, the government and the leftist FARC said they will sign the new deal at 1600 GMT and immediately take it to congress.

The accord aims to end Latin America’s last major armed conflict. But opponents say it is too soft on the leftist FARC force, blamed for thousands and thousands of killings and kidnappings.

The document is expected to pass after being debated next week, since President Juan Manuel Santos and his allies hold a majority in the legislature.

A recent wave of alleged assassinations in conflict areas has raised pressure to seal a peace deal fast.

“There is no time to waste,” Santos said.

“Lives have been lost and many more are in danger.”

But an aftermath of discord and uncertainty looked likely as opponents promised to keep resisting the deal.

“We invite citizens to persist in the struggle for the future of democracy,” said the Democratic Center Party led by conservative ex-president Alvaro Uribe.

“In the coming days, we will examine various actions to call the people into the streets and democratic spaces,” it said in a statement.

Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo “Timochenko” Londono signed an earlier version of the deal in a triumphant ceremony with international leaders on September 27.

But Colombians narrowly rejected it in a referendum on October 2.

But Uribe complained it still did not satisfy his key demands, notably on punishing FARC leaders for their crimes.

Under the deal, the FARC would disarm and transform into a political party.

Uribe and his allies say rebel leaders should not be allowed to run for office while still serving their sentences.

They also want guarantees for state police and soldiers who may face trial over their actions in the conflict.

A survey by pollster Datexco published on Wednesday found that 58 percent of people want more revisions to the deal, in line with opposition demands.

Santos said his government and the FARC will sign the deal at 1600 GMT in the Colon Theater in Bogota.

It will then be presented to congress which will open a debate from next Tuesday, Senate speaker Mauricio Lizcano said on the radio.

“Congress is the body that in Colombia is qualified to approve agreements with the insurgents,” said Ariel Avila, an analyst at Colombia’s Peace and Reconciliation Foundation.

But Uribe’s party accused Santos of using congress to impose his new deal on the people. It demanded a second referendum.

On the streets of Bogota, Angie Suarez, 21, a sales assistant, said it was not fair to push the deal through congress.

“They go over our heads, as if our opinion meant nothing,” she told AFP.

Street vendor Manuel Duran, 40, thought it was “better for congress to do it,” for another referendum would “divide the country.”

A two-way ceasefire between the government and FARC has been in force since August, but both sides have warned it is fragile.

Santos met with top officials on Tuesday to discuss a recent wave of alleged political killings in southern conflict zones.

Separately, last week two FARC guerrillas were killed in what authorities said was a clash with the army.

Since it erupted in 1964, the Colombian conflict has killed at least 260,000 people and displaced seven million, according to the authorities. AFP</s>Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos signs the historic peace agreement between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia in Bogota, on November 24, 2016 (AFP Photo/Luis Robayo)

Bogota (AFP) - Colombia's government and FARC rebels signed a controversial revised peace accord to end their half-century conflict, set to be ratified in Congress despite bitter opposition.

President Juan Manuel Santos and guerrilla leader Rodrigo "Timochenko" Londono signed the new deal with a pen made from a spent bullet, in a low-key ceremony in the capital Bogota.

The original deal -- signed with great fanfare in September -- was rejected by voters in a referendum last month, a shock upset that sent negotiators back to the drawing board.

The new plan bypasses a vote by the Colombian people, against bitter opposition from critics.

They say the revisions are only cosmetic and will still grant impunity for war crimes committed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Santos, who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the conflict, said the new deal was better than the original.

"It includes the hopes and observations of the vast majority of Colombians," he said after signing it.

"We all know in our souls that the cost of the armed conflict is too high."

The deal was immediately sent to Congress, where it is expected to pass after being debated next week. Santos and his allies hold a majority in the legislature.

The government and FARC both say they are under pressure for fear that their fragile ceasefire could break down.

A recent wave of alleged assassinations in conflict zones has added to calls to seal a deal fast.

But an aftermath of discord and uncertainty appears likely as opponents promised to keep resisting the peace plan, including with street protests.

"The country has spoken. It has said, 'Yes to peace, but without impunity,'" said top opponent Alvaro Uribe, a conservative ex-president and senator.

"What we have here remains total impunity," he told RCN television.

Speaking later in the Senate, he called for another referendum on some of the contested "basic issues" in the deal.

The government and FARC negotiators' redrafted version of the deal includes concessions from the rebels on issues such as reparations for victims.

But Uribe complains it still ignores key demands, notably on punishing FARC leaders for the killings and kidnappings blamed on the group.

Under the deal, the Marxist rebels would disarm and become a political party.

The deal allows non-custodial sentences for convicted FARC members.

Uribe and his allies demand tougher punishments and say rebel leaders guilty of war crimes should not be allowed to run for office before completing their sentences.

A survey by pollster Datexco published on Wednesday found that 58 percent of people want more revisions to the deal.

Congress will open a live televised debate on the deal from next Tuesday.

On the streets of Bogota, passerby Overnis Diaz welcomed the agreement.

"We have lived through a war of more than 50 years. We want no more bloodshed," he said.

But another local, Dayanna Gil, said: "It should be approved through a popular vote... We should all have a say."

Santos said that five days after the deal is approved, the FARC rebels will begin gathering in demobilization zones and will hand over their weapons to the United Nations within five months.

"The violent incidents that have taken place recently in conflict-affected areas underscore the relevance of many of the commitments contained in the agreement and the urgency of putting them into effect," his spokesman said in a statement.

The Colombian conflict has killed at least 260,000 people and displaced seven million since it erupted in 1964, according to the authorities.

It has drawn in various left- and right-wing armed groups, state forces and gangs.

Recent efforts by the government to start talks with the second-biggest rebel group, the leftist ELN, have failed due to disputes over hostages.</s>Bogotá, Colombia- Colombia's government and FARC rebels signed a controversial revised peace accord Thursday to end their half-century conflict, set to be ratified in Congress despite bitter opposition.

President Juan Manuel Santos and guerrilla leader Rodrigo "Timochenko" Londono signed the new deal with a pen made from a spent bullet, in a low-key ceremony in the capital Bogota.

The original deal -- signed with great fanfare in September -- was rejected by voters in a referendum last month, a shock upset that sent negotiators back to the drawing board.

The new plan bypasses a vote by the Colombian people, against bitter opposition from critics.

They say the revisions are only cosmetic and will still grant impunity for war crimes committed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Santos, who won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end the conflict, said the new deal was better than the original.

"It includes the hopes and observations of the vast majority of Colombians," he said after signing it.

"We all know in our souls that the cost of the armed conflict is too high."

The deal was immediately sent to Congress, where it is expected to pass after being debated next week. Santos and his allies hold a majority in the legislature.

The government and FARC both say they are under pressure for fear that their fragile ceasefire could break down.

A recent wave of alleged assassinations in conflict zones has added to calls to seal a deal fast.

But an aftermath of discord and uncertainty appears likely as opponents promised to keep resisting the peace plan, including with street protests.

"The country has spoken. It has said, 'Yes to peace, but without impunity,'" said top opponent Alvaro Uribe, a conservative ex-president and senator.

"What we have here remains total impunity," he told RCN television.

Speaking later in the Senate, he called for another referendum on some of the contested "basic issues" in the deal.

The government and FARC negotiators' redrafted version of the deal includes concessions from the rebels on issues such as reparations for victims.

But Uribe complains it still ignores key demands, notably on punishing FARC leaders for the killings and kidnappings blamed on the group.

Under the deal, the Marxist rebels would disarm and become a political party.

The deal allows non-custodial sentences for convicted FARC members.

Uribe and his allies demand tougher punishments and say rebel leaders guilty of war crimes should not be allowed to run for office before completing their sentences.

A survey by pollster Datexco published on Wednesday found that 58 percent of people want more revisions to the deal.

Congress will open a live televised debate on the deal from next Tuesday.

On the streets of Bogota, passerby Overnis Diaz welcomed the agreement.

"We have lived through a war of more than 50 years. We want no more bloodshed," he said.

But another local, Dayanna Gil, said: "It should be approved through a popular vote... We should all have a say."
The Colombian government and FARC rebels sign a new peace deal after the failure of the original one.