“Santos’s reappointment is a clear signal from the Colombian people in support of peace and dialogue in Colombia. In the electoral campaign the debate between the two candidates for the Presidency was polarised on the question of peace. Santos, who opened talks with the FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia—People’s Army] group in 2012, conducted his candidacy as a “Yes” to peace. And the Colombians supported him”. This was Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Mario Giro’s comment on the reappointment of Manuel Santos as President of Colombia.
The Government-FARC negotiations have made considerable progress since 2012, with an agreement on important issues such as agrarian reform, drugs trafficking and the recognition of victims’ rights. These have been accompanied by symbolic gestures such as the electoral truce. The recent decision to place the talks with the other guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army (ELN), are another step towards peace and dialogue.
“With Santos, Colombia has already seen excellent economic results and now the concrete prospects for peace are opening up more opportunities for the Colombian people as a whole. They mark a decisive advance towards the stabilisation of the whole Andes and Central American region. Signing a peace agreement does not mean the end of the war and the culture of violence. But the symbolic force of a decisive and political gesture, a gesture that is unique in the 50 years since the onset of the conflict, cannot be underestimated. Italy is ready to support the pacification effort by working to regenerate the rural districts most badly hit by the conflict”, concluded Under-Secretary Giro.