The president of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos wins the Nobel Peace Prize 2016. The choice of Oslo fell on Santos, who is trying to lead his country in the peace process with the Farc guerrillas, although the Colombians have chosen to vote no to the agreement formulated by their president.
But, as the Nobel explains, “this should not be understood as a no to peace. Popular dissent has been spoken against a specific wording of the agreement. Therefore we underline the importance of Santos now leading a broader dialogue, for a new handshake that finds broad foundations and therefore greater support”.
The choice of the Nobel Committee, therefore, is to award the prize to the president of Colombia, despite the fact that the peace process initiated by Santos is still in the process of being difficult. An award, therefore, to the attempt to put an end to a path of civil violence that has lasted for about fifty years. The pact reached with the Farc fell to the vote on the nodes of the amnesty for the guerrillas, on compensation for the families of the victims and for the right of the Farc to join forces.
The award, just a few days after the Colombian people's resounding no to the agreement, also represents, on the part of the committee, a stimulus and a bet for the relaunch of the process of appeasement. Santos, meanwhile, confirmed that the current "ceasefire" is destined to last, and that in the coming months there will be new negotiations between the parties, with the aim of maintaining the peace.
