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Poll: Most Colombians Back Peace Talks But See No Deal This Year


FILE - Supporters of the peace deal signed between the government and FARC gather at Bolivar Square during a march for peace in Bogota, Colombia, Oct. 20, 2016.
FILE - Supporters of the peace deal signed between the government and FARC gather at Bolivar Square during a march for peace in Bogota, Colombia, Oct. 20, 2016.

A majority of Colombians support peace talks with Marxist rebels but they also doubt that the government will be able to reach a new accord with the country's largest guerrilla group this year, a poll showed on Thursday.

The Gallup poll was published a month after a landmark peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was unexpectedly rejected in a referendum.

The Gallup poll showed that 77 percent of Colombians want a negotiated solution to the 52-year conflict with the FARC, while only 19 percent support a military solution.

But voters rejected a signed peace deal with the FARC by less than half a percentage point in the surprising result of an October 2 referendum, meaning it could not be implemented.

Opponents of the accord, reached after four years of intense negotiations, said it was too lenient on rebels who had committed crimes. Many voters also opposed provisions that gave the guerrillas seats in Congress.

Sides return to Havana

The government and rebels alike had said the accord was the best that could be achieved. But the government is now fighting to salvage the peace deal and extended meetings this week with the right-wing opposition, led by former President Alvaro Uribe, which backed the “no” vote in the plebiscite.

Government peace negotiators were also due to travel on Friday to Havana, Cuba, where the talks took place, to continue meetings with the FARC leadership.

Sixty-one percent of those polled by Gallup said the government would not reach a final accord with the FARC this year, while 37 percent said it would.

Talks with ELN supported

The poll also showed that 80 percent of Colombians support peace negotiations the National Liberation Army (ELN), the country's second-largest rebel group.

The government has postponed planned talks with the group pending the release of a politician held hostage.

The Gallup survey, based on responses from 1,200 participants, had a five percent margin of error.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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