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Colombian gov't, FARC to sign revised peace deal Thursday

Xinhua, November 23, 2016 Adjust font size:

The Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have announced they will sign a revised peace agreement on Thursday, local media reported Tuesday.

The signing ceremony will be held at 11 a.m. local time (1300 GMT) at Bogota's Colon Theater, the Caracol news network reported, adding the two sides agreed that the Congress will be tasked with implementing the agreement.

The text of the new agreement will be presented to the Congress on Wednesday "to explain to lawmakers the changes made to the original draft," the report said.

The initial peace agreement was rejected by a slight margin in an Oct. 2 referendum vote, after the conservative opposition led by former hardline President Alvaro Uribe said it did not go far enough to hold the rebels accountable for past crimes.

The vote sent both sides back to the negotiating table, with Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos insisting a new deal be ready as quickly as possible to maintain the momentum of the negotiations, which lasted nearly four years.

Santos' government says the new treaty takes into account the opposition's concerns. But in response to Tuesday's news, the opposition camp called for "civic resistance" to scuttle the deal. Endi