Advertisement

Colombia's President Wins Nobel Peace Prize

03:49
Download Audio
Resume
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (center) makes the victory/peace sign with wife Maria Clemencia Rodriguez after voting in the referendum on a peace accord to end the 52-year-old guerrilla war between the FARC and the state on Oct. 2, 2016 in Bogota, Colombia. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos (center) makes the victory/peace sign with wife Maria Clemencia Rodriguez after voting in the referendum on a peace accord to end the 52-year-old guerrilla war between the FARC and the state on Oct. 2, 2016 in Bogota, Colombia. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos is being honored for his work on a peace accord with the Marxist rebel group known as the FARC. The deal was signed two weeks ago but was rejected by the Colombian people who voted against it last Sunday.

Still, the Nobel Committee said that doesn't mean the peace process is dead. The peace accord is supposed to end a nearly 50-year war that has killed more than 200,000 people.

Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson speaks with the Wilson Center's Cynthia Arnson, who went to Colombia for the peace accord signing ceremony.

Interview Highlights: Cynthia Arnson

On the reactions to the announcement

"In announcing it, the Nobel Committee indicated it that they hoped that this would help spur on Santos as well as the Colombian people to come to a successful conclusion of the peace agreement. It's a little bit surprising in the face of the rejection last Sunday of the public side on the peace accord by a very narrow margin. But I think it serves as a moral boost for President Santos and gives a little bit breezing space to this effort to see if they can come up with some form of the agreement that would be acceptable to the people that have just rejected it."

On the future of peace negotiations in Colombia

"The main consequence is to embolden the leaders of the 'no' campaign to come forward with a list of demands and changes that they want to see changed in the agreement. But I think it's the wrong perspective to bring to a negotiation, and negotiation by definition is always a give-and-take. It's not an effort to force something down someone's throat. And I think there are many people in the 'no' coalition and on the right in Colombia that think that the only thing that should be negotiated with the FARC is the group's surrender. And I don't think that's very likely.

So I expect that there would be some weeks of back and forth efforts. I think the FARC and the government has both responded responsibly and calmly, saying that they want to make peace. But it's really a question as to whether there's anything that will satisfy the people in the no campaign. Additional concessions of the FARC... might not go the whole way in meeting the disagreements but would provide some of it, but whether that would be enough..."

Guest

Cynthia Arnson, director of the Latin American program at the Wilson Center. She tweets @cindyarnson.

This article was originally published on October 07, 2016.

This segment aired on October 7, 2016.

Related:

Advertisement

More from Here & Now

Listen Live
Close