. Military Space News .
WAR REPORT
Dutch eye Colombia peace deal over guerrilla's future
by Staff Writers
The Hague (AFP) Sept 2, 2016


Majority of Colombians back peace deal with FARC: poll
Bogota (AFP) Sept 2, 2016 - A majority of Colombians look set to back the government's peace deal with the FARC rebels in a referendum next month, a key step in ending the 52-year conflict, a poll showed Friday.

The government of President Juan Manuel Santos has asked Colombians to vote on October 2 on this question: "Do you support the final accord to end the conflict and build a stable and lasting peace?"

The August 24 peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) will only be ratified if the "yes" camp passes the threshold of 4.4 million votes -- 13 percent of the electorate.

A strong majority -- 59.5 percent of the people surveyed -- said they would vote "yes" in support of the agreement, according to the Datexco poll conducted for El Tiempo newspaper and W Radio.

That was nearly double the number of those opposed to the deal, at 33.2 percent, while 4.7 percent said they were undecided and 2.6 percent had no opinion.

The Datexco telephone survey, conducted with 2,019 adults in various parts of the country on August 31 and September 1, has a margin of error of 2.13 percent.

It is not yet know when the peace deal will be formally signed.

Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin said this week that the United Nations had invited Santos and FARC leader Timoleon "Timochenko" Jimenez to sign it at the UN General Assembly in New York, which opens on September 20.

Once the deal is formally signed, the FARC will have 180 days to demobilize, disarm and relaunch itself as a political party. The UN has agreed to monitor the process.

The government and FARC began a landmark ceasefire Monday, the first time both sides have put down their weapons since the Marxist guerrilla group was launched in 1964.

The conflict, which has drawn in various left- and right-wing armed groups and gangs, has left 260,000 dead, 45,000 missing and 6.9 million uprooted from their homes.

The Netherlands said Friday it was closely watching the outcome of the Colombian peace deal and how it will affect a notorious Dutch woman guerrilla, wanted by the United States.

An international arrest warrant for Tanja Nijmeijer, who joined the Revolutionary Armed Force of Colombia (FARC) rebel group in 2002, also remains in place, Dutch officials confirmed.

"The Dutch foreign ministry is closely following the Colombian peace process," the ministry said in a statement to AFP.

Bogota has told Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders that a transitional justice system -- which still has to be set up in the country -- will determine whether FARC fighters will be tried for human rights violations or receive amnesty, it added.

A ceasefire between the Colombian government and the rebels came into effect on Monday ending a 52-year-long conflict.

Colombians will now vote in an October 2 referendum on whether to back the deal hammered out in nearly four years of talks in Cuba, where Nijmeijer became the FARC's public face.

Under the deal, a court called the Special Peace Jurisdiction will be set up tasked with prosecuting atrocities committed during the conflict in which some 260,000 people lost their lives.

This will "still take some time," the Dutch foreign ministry said.

"Therefore for the moment ... nothing can be said over what will happen to Tanja Nijmeijer," it said.

Nijmeijer, 38, was born in the eastern Dutch town of Denekamp and joined the FARC in 2002 -- reportedly shocked by the disparities between rich and poor -- after travelling to Colombia to teach English.

In an exclusive interview, she told AFP in 2012 she was "married" to the rebels' cause, but later admitted she sometimes got homesick and longed to make a brief visit back home.

The United States has charged her with terrorism and conspiracy to commit hostage taking in the kidnapping of three American contractors in 2003. The men were freed in a military operation along with former Colombian presidential candidate and French citizen Ingrid Betancourt.

"Tanja Nijmeijer is suspected of committing terrorist acts and war crimes. For now all international arrest warrants against her remain in place," the Dutch foreign ministry said.

The FARC number two, Ivan Marquez, told AFP in June that a French woman was also among their ranks. She had called herself by the pseudonym Natalie Mistral during an interview with Radio France Internationale.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Space War News






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
WAR REPORT
Turkey claims gains against IS in northern Syria
Karkamis, Turkey (AFP) Sept 1, 2016
Turkey said Thursday it had made gains against Islamic State jihadists on the ninth day of an offensive in neighbouring Syria to clear the border area of IS fighters and a Kurdish militia. The Turkish army said it had cleared "terrorist elements" out of three villages west of Jarabulus - a border town taken from Islamic State militants by Turkish-backed Syrian rebels last week. The vill ... read more


WAR REPORT
Lockheed Martin gets $204 million Aegis contract modification

Lockheed Martin receives $19 million THAAD contract modification

Russia touts hypersonics as ABM Killer

Lockheed Martin gets $112 million Aegis modernization contract

WAR REPORT
Raytheon gets $24 million for Tomahawk radio and antenna

Qatar orders coastal defense system from MBDA

Security Council to meet after latest NKorea missile test

Raytheon/Lockheed team gets $48 million foreign Javelin missile contract

WAR REPORT
The Incredible Loudness of Whispering

U.S. Air Force QF-4 flies final unmanned mission

Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach UAS Program Leads Nation as One of First to Begin Flight Operations

U.S., Canada ink deal for RQ-21A drone sale

WAR REPORT
SES Government solutions to provide the US with a high performance network

The sky's no limit for young space professionals

Datron gets $495 million Afghan radio contract

Open Architecture opens opportunities for acquisition reform

WAR REPORT
Saab supplying simulators for Polish military academy

US Army gives combat medics new type of tourniquet

Lockheed Martin gets $147 million for U.S. Army trainer systems

Lithuania orders more rifles, grenade launchers

WAR REPORT
Raytheon sued by former employee over Afghanistan fraud allegations

S. Korea hosts arms show after N. Korea missile tests

U.S. lawmakers call for freeze on Saudi arms sale

French environment minister announces partnerships in Iran

WAR REPORT
Airport tiff highlights US-China value gap: Obama

EU army not 'any time soon': Mogherini

Russia launches major military drills set to rattle Kiev

Lithuania sends ammunition to Ukraine to fight rebels

WAR REPORT
'Helix-to-Tube,' a simple strategy to synthesize covalent organic nanotubes

Diamonds and quantum information processing on the nano scale

Lehigh engineer discovers a high-speed nano-avalanche

Silicon nanoparticles trained to juggle light









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.