http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/world/americas/colombia-farc-peace-agreement.html 2016-09-27 01:52:34 After Five Decades of War, Colombia Signs Peace Agreement With Rebels The government on Monday ended a war with the FARC rebels, ending a conflict that killed as many as 220,000 people and displaced more than 5 million. === In a Caribbean resort city, far from the jungles where guerrilla battles once raged, the A large crowd had gathered for the signing ceremony, held in Cartagena, that brought an end to It was a moment reminiscent of the Soon, the choice will be in the hands of the Colombian people. President The “This was like the stars that have burned out years ago — but still you can see their light for many years afterward,” said The war tore the social fabric of All told, some 220,000 people lost their lives and more than 5 million were displaced. Many argued the time had come at last to end generations of unrest. “Who could oppose that people go back to using the land? That there are no more children in war? That the mines be removed?” said Yet the agreement has faced stiff criticism, most notably from Mr. Santos’ predecessor as president, “With these agreements, there is neither justice nor truth for the victims,” said Mr. Uribe, who is now an opposition senator in Congress, in a Twitter post. In coming months the FARC will hand over arms to United Nations inspectors, beginning a process in which they will begin a life as ordinary Colombians. In return, the country will agree to a “transitional justice” system in which, according to Mr. Santos, rank-and-file soldiers will be granted amnesty or given reduced sentences for crimes they committed. The rebels held what they called the The process of reconciliation will continue in Yet the survivors must live with their memories of war. There are those like Yolanda Perea, who as an 11-year-old in 1997 was living in the village of La Pava when a guerrilla entered her home, which had no door, walked past her five siblings and her grandfather, and raped her with a gun pointed to her head. Ms. Perea did not know she had become pregnant until another guerrilla beat her and she had a miscarriage. Days later, she said, several more guerrillas arrived and fatally shot her mother. Ms. Parea eventually had two children. She lives in Medellín working with a nongovernmental organization that protects women’s rights. She is planning a “yes” vote for the referendum. “I don’t win anything if I continue to hate,” she said. “I have to vote yes because peace depends on each of us. There are more of us who are good, and we simply have to keep fighting for a quiet country for our children and grandchildren.”