This year’s presidential election was described by analysts as a last resort for the 2016 peace agreement in Colombia. news has discussed Colombia’s future with the main architect behind the peace agreement. See the interview at the bottom of the article. This week, news met President and Peace Prize winner Juan Manuel Santos. The main architect behind the peace agreement with the FARC from 2016 was this week in Norway during the Oslo Forum. Photo: Ksenia Novikova, news It is four years since peace prize winner Juan Manuel Santos resigned as president of Colombia. This week, news met him in Oslo for an exclusive interview during the peace broker meeting Oslo Forum. Santos is best known for the peace agreement he and the guerrilla group Farc signed in 2016, and which Norwegian diplomats helped to facilitate. He also received the Nobel Peace Prize for the same year. In 2016, President Juan Manuel Santos signed a peace agreement with Colombia’s largest guerrilla group FARC. Here from the signing in Cartagena. Photo: Fernando Vergara / AP Now he believes the key to the success of the newly elected president of Colombia lies in implementing the peace agreement. – This government has a huge opportunity. Several of the points in the peace agreement are also the solution to several of the challenges for Colombia, Santos says to news. Believe in Petro Gustavo Petro won the presidential election in Colombia on Sunday. Here with his Vice President Francia Márquez. Photo: LUISA GONZALEZ / Reuters Sunday’s historic election victory for former guerrilla member Gustavo Petro came after several years of social unrest, new waves of violence and growing inequality. – The pendulum has been moving towards a shift for a long time. The current government of President Duque has unfortunately been a failure, and has created a reaction against the established order, says Santos. In 2018, outgoing President Ivan Duque went to the polls to tear down the peace agreement. Outgoing President Iván Duque (2018–2022) is largely to blame for the deteriorating security situation in the country. Photo: ANDREW HARNIK / AFP Although he did not succeed in his election promise, he has spent four years slowing down the implementation of the peace agreement, according to Santos. Now he also blames Duque for the deteriorating security situation in Colombia. Violent year In 2021, several Colombians took to the streets in protest against the incumbent government. Photo: LUIS ROBAYO / AFP When the Farc withdrew, the peace agreement was to fill the vacuum of power they left behind in the Colombian countryside. According to the Red Cross, 2021 was the most violent year since the parties signed the peace agreement. Santos admits to news that the deteriorating security situation came as a surprise to him. He believes the outgoing president must take a large part of the blame for the development. The military is collecting votes from the countryside during this year’s presidential election. Photo: JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP – Since its inception, Duque has downgraded the part of the peace agreement that focuses on improving the security situation. Now you see the consequences. Killing of social leaders and former FARC members. These are problems Santos believes is the first thing Petro must gain control of when he becomes president. – I hope he takes hold of this, because it is urgent to regain control of the areas that were lost during the current government, Santos says to news. In the election campaign, Petro has promised to implement the peace agreement in its entirety. – Can not thank Norway enough Norway was a key player in facilitating the peace negotiations between the FARC and the Colombian authorities. Peace Prize winner Juan Manuel Santos served as Colombia’s president between 2010–2018. He belongs to the right wing of Colombian politics. Photo: JOSE MIGUEL GOMEZ / Reuters At the beginning of Santos’ presidency, “no one” believed in a possible peace agreement apart from Norway, according to the peace prize winner. – First I want to say that I can not thank Norway enough. Norway was the first country to encourage peace talks and that they would help us, says Santos. He describes Norway as a fantastic companion in the process. He also says he will apologize for Duque’s attempt to break a “Norwegian” diplomatic agreement between the ELN and the Colombian authorities. Santos asks for forgiveness from Norway. Photo: KSENIA NOVIKOVA, news – I hope Norway can forgive Colombia for what has happened to the current government. Duque ignored the protocols that were to protect the representatives of the peace talks of the ELN that Colombia had signed with Norway. New hope for ELN talks ELN is Colombia’s largest remaining guerrilla group. Photo: RAUL ARBOLEDA / AFP In the interview with news, Santos says that he hopes the election of a president from the left can also resume peace negotiations with Colombia’s largest remaining guerrilla group ELN. – I think he wants the political capital to negotiate with the ELN. Circumstances are also better this time, Santos explains. Like the FARC, ELN has operated in Colombia since the 1960s, but has a looser command structure. This has made peace negotiations with the guerrilla group more complicated. Authorities have failed to fill the power vacuum after the FARC since signing the peace agreement, according to Santos. Photo: RAUL ARBOLEDA / Afp Peace Prize winner Santos also initiated peace talks with the ELN in 2016, but the talks bore little fruit and collapsed completely in January 2018. Now Venezuela can play a key role in new negotiations. Petro has stated that he wants to re-establish relations with neighboring Venezuela. It could be crucial for new peace talks. “Venezuela was incredibly important in the negotiations with the FARC, and can be very important in new peace negotiations with the ELN,” Santos said of a possible new peace contribution from Venezuela.
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