BOGOTA, Colombia _ Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the head of the country's largest guerrilla group Thursday signed a new deal to end the nation's half-century civil war.
Santos and the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC, Rodrigo "Timochenko" Londono signed the agreement using a pen made from a bullet casing.
After the signing, Santos acknowledged that not everyone favored the deal, but he said it offered a path toward ending the conflict in which more than 220,000 people have died.
"Everyone, absolutely everyone, knows that peace will bring back hope, faith in the future and the possibility of having a better life for ourselves and our children," he said.
Londono said the FARC, which took up arms in 1964, would no longer use violence even as it pursues its political ambitions of ending social inequality and working for the poor.
"For the good of the country, the only weapons we Colombians should allow ourselves to use are words," he said.
Thursday's event was far more modest than one held in Cartagena in September and attended by a dozen world leaders. At that time, Santos and Londono signed an agreement whose approval seemed inevitable.
That deal was praised around the world, but many Colombian voters weren't impressed. It was rejected in a close vote.
The new agreement will not be put to a national vote. Santos said it will be ratified by congress next week. Santos has a solid majority in the legislature and the deal is expected to pass easily.
After the first deal was rejected Oct. 2, the government and the FARC spent 40 days negotiating a new one. But it hasn't appeased opponents, who claim the deal is still too lenient on the FARC.
The Centro Democratico party, led by former President Alvaro Uribe, is accused the government of negotiating in bad faith, and of making only superficial changes to the original aagreement.
Among their complaints is that FARC commanders accused of genocide and other war crimes can avoid jail if they go before a truth commission, make reparations to victims and serve five- to eight-year sentences that would be served confined to areas as large as a neighborhood or small village.
During that time, they can also run for office. The guerrillas' new political party will be guaranteed five seats in the House and Senate during the first two electoral cycles beginning in 2018.
Uribe and others say Colombians should get a chance to vote on the new deal, rather than have it approved by a compliant congress.
Santos has said any more delays could mean more violence Over the past few weeks, there has been an increase in violence against community leaders who backed the peace deal. And a cease-fire with the FARC ends Dec. 31.
"We've lost lives and there are many more in danger," Santos said this week. "We couldn't forgive ourselves if we didn't act promptly and firmly to correct this situation."
