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Juan Manuel Santos

Colombian president receives Nobel Peace Prize

Reuters
International
OSLO: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said an accord to end a 52-year civil war with Marxist rebels was a "ray of hope" for solving conflicts from Syria to South Sudan as he collected the Nobel Peace Prize on Saturday. In an acceptance speech that quoted an anti-war song by Bob Dylan, the 2016 Literature Laureate, Santos said Colombia itself had drawn inspiration from other peace processes such as those in South Africa and Northern Ireland. Santos collected the prize - a gold medal, diploma and a check for 8…

Laureates to receive Nobel Prizes, except Bob Dylan

AFP
International
OSLO, NORWAY: In the absence of rock icon Bob Dylan, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos will be the star of Saturday's Nobel ceremonies when he receives his Peace Prize in Oslo, crowning an achievement that came close to failing at the finish line. After a first peace deal rejected by the Colombian people, Santos's government and the Marxist FARC rebels renegotiated a new peace accord that was signed on November 24 to end a five-decade conflict that has killed more than 260,000 people, left 45,000 missing and forced…

Colombia signs revised peace deal with FARC

AFP
International
BOGOTA: 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 criticism from opponents. President Juan Manuel Santos and guerrilla leader Rodrigo "Timochenko" Londono signed the new deal with a pen made from a bullet used in the conflict, 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…

Colombian government, FARC rebels strike new peace deal

AFP
International
HAVANA: Colombia's government and FARC rebels on Saturday announced a revised peace deal to end 52 years of armed conflict, after voters rejected a prior peace accord in a referendum. "We have reached a new final agreement to end the armed conflict, which incorporates changes, clarifications and some new contributions from various social groups, which we have gone through one by one," said a joint statement read out by diplomats from Cuba and Norway, the peace process guarantors. "Building a stable, lasting peace must…

Colombian president ‘inspired’ by North Ireland peace process

AFP
International
BELFAST: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said during a visit to Belfast on Thursday he was trying to follow Northern Ireland's path to peace and prosperity. Santos met Northern Irish First Minister Arlene Foster and her deputy Martin McGuinness at the end of a three-day state visit to the United Kingdom, the first by a Colombian president. Santos won this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to implement a peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels, but voters rejected the…

Colombian President says hopes for new FARC deal by Christmas

AFP
International
LONDON: Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said in an interview on Sunday that he hoped to secure a new deal with FARC rebels by Christmas, warning that any further delay could make the peace process "explode". The government signed a historic agreement last month with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Colombia's biggest rebel group, but in a shock move, voters rejected the deal in a referendum on October 2. "All the negotiators and I have met almost every organisation and we are now digesting more…

Nobel win ‘a great stimulus’ to Colombia peace: Santos

AFP
International
BOGOTA: President Juan Manuel Santos said Friday Colombia was "very, very" close to ending decades of war and that receiving the Nobel Peace Prize would be "a great stimulus" to that end.  In an interview with the Nobel Foundation, the Colombian leader accepted the prestigious award in the name of his people, and insisted a peace agreement was possible despite the nation's shock rejection of a historic deal he reached last month with the communist FARC rebels. "I receive this award in their name -- the Colombian people who…