Abroad: I would use the Nobel Prize to stop terrible atrocities

– The Committee decided to support the President of Colombia for his great efforts to end the half-century-long civil war, which has claimed at least 220,000 lives and forced nearly 6 million Colombians to flee… However, there is now a great danger that the peace process has stalled and the war will flare up again… We hope that the Nobel Peace Prize will encourage the parties to achieve peace as soon as possible. “The Committee.

On Friday, Juan Manuel Santos, accompanied by his family, stood in front of the cameras and stressed that he will be committed to peace every day of the remaining two years of his term. – I present this award to the victims so that this conflict does not take any more lives. We must reconcile, we must go through the process of reconciliation – said El Tiempo Santos, who, according to him, was awakened by his son Martin at dawn local time on Friday to learn the news.

Photograph: John Vizcaino/Reuters

The liberal politician – far-left guerrilla leader Rodrigo “Tymochenko” Londono congratulated him in a brief statement – ​​is the second Colombian to win a Nobel Prize after Gabriel García Márquez (Márquez won the Nobel Prize for: Literature, Swedish Academy, 1982) The last South American candidate to win the Nobel Peace Prize was Guatemalan activist Rigoberta Menchú, for her work in defence of the rights of indigenous peoples.

Beyond recognition, Santos has a great burden, as he must lead this country of 47 million people from a desperate situation to peace. The far-left guerrillas took up arms in 1964, partly to protect exploited peasants, and have fought the government and right-wing paramilitaries for 52 years. Horrific atrocities have been committed by all sides in the conflict. Although representatives of the FARC and the government have sat down at the negotiating table several times over the past half century, multiple attempts have failed. In 2012, however, there was enough will, and after four years of arduous negotiations, a peace treaty was signed in September.

Photograph: John Vizcaino/Reuters

However, many Colombians say that the guerrillas, who survive on drug trafficking, defense funding and kidnapping, get away too easily. The agreement provides them with a de facto amnesty and ensures that the FARC will participate in political life as a political party, following the example of Northern Ireland. In the referendum on October 2, the Gender Equality, which rejected the peace agreement and demanded a new contract, won with a 50.2% majority. The parties were not prepared for this result, but so far they seem committed to peace and have returned to the negotiating table in Havana. The question is how long the patience of the guerrillas will hold out. Perhaps the Nobel Peace Prize will consolidate their commitment. – This important recognition should serve as an ethical and moral support for the parties to continue on the path of peace – Carlos Medina Gallego, an expert on the FARC at the National University of Colombia, pointed out to this newspaper.