BOGOTA, Colombia — Congress formally ratified a revised peace agreement with Colombia's biggest leftist rebel group, capping a torturous four years of negotiations, a stunning referendum rejection, last-minute compromises and two signing ceremonies.

The initial pact was narrowly rejected by voters last month, and President Juan Manuel Santos decided to skip a referendum on the new version and go directly to congress, where the deal's supporters hold a majority. Opponents, led by former President Alvaro Uribe, boycotted the legislative votes, which resulted in unanimous approval by the Senate on Tuesday and by the lower house late Wednesday.

The new 310-page accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia introduced 50 changes to the initial deal in an attempt to assuage opponents as the government seeks to end a 52-year conflict that has killed more than 220,000 people and driven almost 8 million from their homes.

The modifications include a prohibition on foreign magistrates judging alleged crimes by government or FARC troops, and a commitment from the rebels to forfeit assets, some amassed through drug trafficking, to help compensate victims. But the FARC rejected demands for jail sentences for rebel leaders responsible for atrocities and stricter limits on their future participation in politics.

The compromises weren't enough for some of the deal's opponents.

"There needs to be a balance between peace and justice, but in this agreement there's complete impunity," Uribe, now a senator, said during the Senate debate. Other senators accused him of standing in the way of a peace deal that he pursued with the FARC as president in 2002-10.

Santos said ratification will set in motion the start of a six-month process in which the FARC's 8,000-plus guerrillas will concentrate in some 20 rural areas and turn over their weapons to United Nations monitors. "Tomorrow a new era begins," he said Wednesday.

But the rebels insist their troops won't start demobilizing until lawmakers pass an amnesty law freeing some 2,000 rebels in jail.

"D-Day starts after the first actions are implemented," the rebel leader Pastor Alape, part of the FARC's 10-member secretariat, said last week after the new accord was signed. "The president unfortunately has been demonstrating an attitude that creates confusion in the country."

The debate over amnesty highlights one of the peace deal's early challenges: the need for congress to pass legislation implementing the accord and setting up special peace tribunals.

Santos was initially counting on swift approval of the needed changes that in some cases require constitutional amendments. But the referendum loss has left the status of his fast-track authority in doubt, awaiting a ruling by the constitutional court. Experts say a solid pro-peace coalition could crumble if implementation drags on and butts against the political maneuvering for the 2018 presidential election.

Beyond the legal hurdles, there is also concern FARC fighters will wind up joining criminal gangs rampant across Colombia or the much-smaller rebel National Liberation Army, which for months has been playing cat and mouse with the government over opening a peace process of its own. On Wednesday, both sides said they would delay until January any decision about when to start talks.

Combating security threats will test the state's ability to make its presence felt in traditionally neglected rural areas at a time of financial stress triggered by low oil prices.

There is also a risk that peace could trigger more bloodshed, as it did following a previous peace process with the FARC in the 1980s. At that time, thousands of former guerrillas, labor activists and communist militants were killed by right-wing militias, sometimes in collaboration with state agents.

Worries about new bloodshed, although less prevalent than in the darker days of Colombia's half-century conflict, has become more urgent with more than a dozen human rights defenders and land activists in areas dominated by the FARC being killed by unknown assailants since the initial signing ceremony in September. So far this year, 70 have been killed, according to Bogota-based We Are Defenders, more than in all of 2015 and 2014. </s> BOGOTA, Colombia--Congress formally ratified a revised peace agreement with Colombia's biggest leftist rebel group, capping a torturous four years of negotiations, a stunning referendum rejection, last-minute compromises and two signing ceremonies.

The initial pact was narrowly rejected by voters last month, and President Juan Manuel Santos decided to skip a referendum on the new version and go directly to congress, where the deal's supporters hold a majority. Opponents, led by former President Alvaro Uribe, boycotted the legislative votes, which resulted in unanimous approval by the Senate on Tuesday and by the lower house late Wednesday.

The new 310-page accord with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia introduced 50 changes to the initial deal in an attempt to assuage opponents as the government seeks to end a 52-year conflict that has killed more than 220,000 people and driven almost 8 million from their homes.

The modifications include a prohibition on foreign magistrates judging alleged crimes by government or FARC troops, and a commitment from the rebels to forfeit assets, some amassed through drug trafficking, to help compensate victims. But the FARC rejected demands for jail sentences for rebel leaders responsible for atrocities and stricter limits on their future participation in politics.

The compromises weren't enough for some of the deal's opponents.

"There needs to be a balance between peace and justice, but in this agreement there's complete impunity," Uribe, now a senator, said during the Senate debate. Other senators accused him of standing in the way of a peace deal that he pursued with the FARC as president in 2002-10.

Santos said ratification will set in motion the start of a six-month process in which the FARC's 8,000-plus guerrillas will concentrate in some 20 rural areas and turn over their weapons to United Nations monitors. "Tomorrow a new era begins," he said Wednesday.

But the rebels insist their troops won't start demobilizing until lawmakers pass an amnesty law freeing some 2,000 rebels in jail.

"D-Day starts after the first actions are implemented," the rebel leader Pastor Alape, part of the FARC's 10-member secretariat, said last week after the new accord was signed. "The president unfortunately has been demonstrating an attitude that creates confusion in the country."

The debate over amnesty highlights one of the peace deal's early challenges: the need for congress to pass legislation implementing the accord and setting up special peace tribunals.

Santos was initially counting on swift approval of the needed changes that in some cases require constitutional amendments. But the referendum loss has left the status of his fast-track authority in doubt, awaiting a ruling by the constitutional court. Experts say a solid pro-peace coalition could crumble if implementation drags on and butts against the political maneuvering for the 2018 presidential election. </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." </s> Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The first peace deal met resistance as many claimed it allowed Farc rebels to get away with murder

The Colombian government and the Farc rebel group have announced a new peace agreement, six weeks after the original deal was rejected in a popular vote.

The two sides, which have been holding talks in Cuba for four years, said the revised plan incorporated proposals from the opposition and others groups.

The initial deal had been deemed to be too favourable to the left-wing rebels.

The new agreement is not expected to be put to another popular vote, but rather submitted to Congress.

"We have reached a new final agreement to end the armed conflict, which incorporates changes, clarifications and some new contributions from various social groups," the two sides said in a statement.

It was read by diplomats from Cuba and Norway, the mediating countries, in the Cuban capital, Havana.

The statement did not give details of the revised agreement but Colombia's lead negotiator, Humberto de la Calle, said it "resolves many criticisms" of the previous deal.

One new requirement was for the Farc to draw up a complete list of its assets, to be used for victim compensation, he added. Further details are expected to be released over the weekend.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Farc representative Ivan Marquez (left) shook hands with government negotiator Humberto de la Calle

However the leader of the "No" campaign, former President Alvaro Uribe, said the new proposals did not go far enough.

The previous deal was rejected by 50.2% of voters in a vote held on 2 October.

Many objected to the lenient sentences given to fighters who confessed to crimes. Some would have avoided serving any time in conventional prisons.

Those who opposed the deal also balked at the government's plan to pay demobilised Farc rebels a monthly stipend while offering those wanting to start a business financial help.

Polls had initially indicated that the agreement would be approved by a comfortable margin, but opposition to the agreement had been stronger than expected.

Despite the rejection of the deal by voters, President Juan Manuel Santos was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his part in the negotiations.

Colombia's largest rebel group

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) was formed in 1964

Farc, Colombia's largest rebel group, was formed in 1964 with the stated intention of overthrowing the government and installing a Marxist regime.

After modest beginnings, the group rose to prominence through the 1980s and 1990s as its association with the drugs trade improved its financial standing.

At its peak it was the largest and best-equipped guerrilla force in Latin America.

But the number of active Farc fighters has diminished from its estimated high of 20,000 to about 7,000 after thousands of guerrilla fighters were demobilised or killed.

Colombia's second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), has also been engaged in an armed conflict for more than five decades.

About 260,000 people have killed and millions displaced in the 52-year conflict. </s> Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced the new deal in a TV address Saturday evening, saying it will build a "broader, deeper peace."

A peace deal negotiated earlier this year with FARC rebels was unexpectedly defeated by Colombian voters in October. Many were angered by what they saw as insufficient punishment for those who perpetrated a litany of crimes against their people.

Negotiations for a peace deal continued after the defeat with rebels and those opposed to the original agreement.

Among the new stipulations are reparations for victims which will come from FARC's assets and money, Santos said.

FARC can still form a political party under the agreementm and members with minor offenses can apply to get their records cleared. One of the chief negotiators of the FARC guerrilla movement, Ivan Marquez, tweeted, "The new peace accord is the victory for Colombia." The accord also sets up transitional areas where FARC members stay to be rehabilitated and have "activities of reparation," Santos said. US Secretary of State John Kerry issued a statement saying, "I want to congratulate the government and people of Colombia on achieving a revised peace agreement." "President Santos and his negotiating team, those from the 'No' campaign, and other important sectors of Colombian society deserve credit for engaging in a far-reaching and respectful national dialogue following the plebiscite," Kerry said. He said the United States will "support full implementation of the final peace agreement." US National Security Adviser Susan Rice congratulated the government of Colombia for reaching the deal. "We appreciate how difficult and complicated the negotiations have been and recognize that the new provisions, while an important step forward, will not necessarily satisfy everyone," she said in a statement. </s> Colombia’s government and its largest rebel group have signed a new peace accord following the surprise rejection of an earlier deal by voters in a referendum.

The latest agreement aims to address some of the concerns of opponents of the original deal, who said it was too lenient on a leftist rebel group that had kidnapped and committed war crimes.

“The new deal is an opportunity to clear up doubts but, above all, to unite us,” said government negotiator Humberto de la Calle, who signed the accord along with rebel negotiator Ivan Marquez in Havana.

It aims to end a half-century-long conflict that has claimed more than 220,000 lives and driven almost eight million people from their homes.

Mr de la Calle described the text of the modified accord as “much better” than the previous one, but did not say if, or how, it would be submitted again to voters or to congress.

President Juan Manuel Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) inked an initial peace deal on September 26th amid international fanfare after more than four years of negotiations.

But voters rejected it on October 2nd by just 55,000 votes, dealing a stunning setback to Mr Santos who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end Colombia’s conflict.

Mr Santos immediately began looking for ways to rescue the deal and the sides extended a ceasefire until December 31st to get the modified agreement done.

The rebels insisted they would not go back to the drawing board and throw out years of arduous negotiations with the government.

“The meetings with the Farc delegation were intense,” said Mr de la Calle. “We worked 15 days and nights to reach this new agreement.”

He said some modifications made were related to justice, punishment for combatants accused of war crimes and reparations for the conflict’s victims.

He said negotiators had worked out the details of how and where those responsible for crimes would serve their sentences, addressing complaints by opponents that rebels accused of atrocities would not be imprisoned but submitted to “alternative punishments”.

Other modifications include requiring the rebels to present an inventory of acquired money and holdings, and the provision of safeguards for private owners and property during reforms carried out in the countryside.

Cases of conflict participants accused of drug trafficking would be dealt with under Colombia’s penal code and heard by high courts.

In a televised address on Saturday night, Mr Santos said he had instructed the negotiating team to return to Bogota to explain the details of the new accord to the “no” campaign led by conservative former president Álvaro Uribe.

Mr Marquez said “the implementation of the accord is all that remains for the construction of the basis for peace in Colombia”.

US secretary of state John Kerry congratulated Colombians, including Mr Santos and those from the “no” campaign, for reaching the new peace deal.

Colombia’s government is also seeking to hold peace talks with the country’s second-biggest rebel group.

But Mr Santos wants the National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish initials ELN, to first free a former congressman it has held captive for six months before holding negotiations.

The ELN is far smaller than Farc and was founded in the same year, 1964. Inspired by the Cuban revolution, it is ideologically more doctrinaire than the Farc. It has fewer than 2,000 fighters, making it less than one-third the size of the Farc. </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> Colombia's government and its largest rebel group signed a new, modified peace accord on Saturday following the surprise rejection of an earlier deal by voters in a referendum.

Chief government negotiator Humberto de la Calle and rebel negotiator Luciano Marin, alias Ivan Marquez, signed the deal in Cuba, moving to end to a half-century-long conflict that has claimed more than 220,000 lives.

Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia inked an initial peace deal on Sept. 26 amid international fanfare after more than four years of negotiations. But voters rejected it on Oct. 2 by just 55,000 votes, dealing a stunning setback to Santos who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end Colombia's conflict.

Santos immediately began looking for ways to rescue the deal and the sides extended a cease-fire until Dec. 31 to get the modified deal done. The rebels insisted they wouldn't go back to the drawing board and throw out years of arduous negotiations with the government.

"The meetings with the FARC delegation were intense," said De la Calle. "We worked 15 days and nights to reach this new agreement."

It was unclear if or how the modified deal would be submitted to a referendum.

De La Calle said among the modifications made were related to punishments and justice for participants in the conflict accused of war crimes. He said the exact details would be released later.

"We are convinced that this accord offers roads to peace that are viable and possible," he said.

Hours earlier, conservative former President Alvaro, who led the opposition to the original deal, called for the confirmation of the accord to be held up until the victims of the conflict and the deal's opponents could review the text.

Following a meeting with Santos in Colombia, Uribe read a statement to reporters saying he had asked that the "texts to be announced from Havana" not be definitive until they had been reviewed.

Uribe and his supporters had demanded stiffer penalties for rebels who committed war crimes and criticized the promise of a political role for the FARC, a 7,000-strong peasant army that is Latin America's last remaining major insurgency

Opponents of the initial agreement questioned, among other things, that guerrilla leaders involved in crimes against humanity would be spared jail time and allowed to enter political life. </s> OSLO -- Colombia's peace deal is a model for countries at war like Syria, President Juan Manuel Santos said Saturday as he accepted his Nobel Peace Prize, though a ceremony for other laureates was marked by Bob Dylan's no-show.

Earlier in the day in Oslo, Santos said in his acceptance speech that the Colombian peace accord, signed on Nov. 24 to end five decades of conflict, was a "model for the resolution of armed conflicts that have yet to be resolved around the world."

"It proves that what, at first, seems impossible, through perseverance may become possible even in Syria or Yemen or South Sudan," Santos said as he collected his prize at a lavish ceremony at Oslo's City Hall, decked out in red, orange and white roses and carnations imported from Colombia for the occasion.

Santos, who wore a dove lapel pin on his dark suit and whose wife donned a white dress with a peace symbol cut-out in the back, said his government was itself inspired by other peace processes in Northern Ireland, South Africa, the Middle East and Central America.

After a first peace deal was rejected in a popular vote on Oct. 2, the rebels and government negotiated a new accord to end the conflict, which has killed more than 260,000 people, left tens of thousands missing and forced nearly 7 million to flee their homes.

"The Colombian peace agreement is a ray of hope in a world troubled by so many conflicts and so much intolerance," he said.

Yet in an interview with AFP, Santos acknowledged that the hardest part of the country's peace process was yet to come.

The period ahead "is a more difficult phase than the (negotiation) process itself, and will require a lot of effort, perseverance and humility," he said.

"A lot of coordination efforts will also be needed ... to bring the benefits of peace to the regions that have suffered the most in the conflict," he added.

He also said he could offer no guarantees there would be a peace deal in place with Colombia's second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), before the end of his mandate in 2018.

"I will do my best but to establish a time frame is always counter-productive in negotiations of this sort," he said.

In a speech at the ceremony, Berit Reiss-Andersen, deputy chairwoman of the Nobel committee, all sides in Colombia to "continue on the road to reconciliation."

The Nobel prize consists of a gold medal, a diploma and a check for 8 million Swedish kronor (US$871,000), a sum Santos promised to donate to the victims of the war.

In Stockholm, 1,500 guests attended the formal ceremony where the laureates in the sciences, economics and literature were honored, and where the buzz was all about Dylan's absence.

Dylan sent a thank-you speech that was read at the gala banquet at Stockholm's City Hall, attended by around 1,300 guests and the Swedish royal family.

According to the Nobel Foundation, his prize should be presented to him in person sometime in 2017, either in Sweden or abroad.
The Colombian government and FARC rebels sign a new peace deal after the failure of the original one.