Colombia’s Canal Institucional will feature live streaming video all day Monday from Cartagena and around the country. The stream will include video of the historic peace agreement signing between Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
Monday’s signing ends more than 50 years of warfare between the Colombian government and the FARC, in which hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians were killed and millions displaced.
Several previous attempts to end the war with the FARC have ended in failure. The current peace process has been underway for several years in Havana, Cuba, with international backing from several world governments and the United Nations.
Before the current agreement takes effect officially, Colombia’s citizens must vote on the deal in a plebiscite to be held next Sunday. Popular opinion polls show the “yes” vote winning by a slim margin.
A “yes” vote would ratify the agreement with the FARC and end one of Colombia’s most intractable conflicts. The war was, until recently, the longest-running civil conflict in the world.
To follow a live stream of the events from Cartagena and around Colombia, check out the video at http://www.canalinstitucional.tv/portada (in Spanish). And don’t forget to check back at The City Paper for updates throughout the day.
