Skip to main content

Pope not involved in Colombian peace deal- Vatican

Pope Francis

Pope Francis

Pope Francis has turned down a request to play a role in the peace deal between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebel group.

The Vatican in a statement issued on Wednesday in in Vatican City said that an invitation was sent to his Holiness in early August to appoint a representative to participate in the committee that selected the judges for the talks.

The statement said that though Pope Francis supported the peace process, he, however, reiterated that he would not get involved in Colombian peace deal.

It said that Pope was praying for the enlightenment of the hearts and minds of those who were called to promote the common good of the Colombian nation.

A deal was announced last week, putting an end to five decades of internal conflict between government forces and the FARC rebels.

The agreement, which needed to be ratified through a referendum in Oct. 2, would entail setting up a special court to grant amnesties or punish civil war crimes.

The fighting between the FARC and other left-wing rebels and the military, police and right-wing paramilitaries started in Colombia in 1964.

Since then, more than 220,000 lives had been lost, and millions forced to flee parts of the country.

The government claimed that 7.6 million Colombians were direct and indirect victims of the conflict.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Court grants Fani-Kayode N50m bail

Fani-kayode sandwiched by EFCC officials Justice James Tsoho of the Federal High Court Abuja on Thursday granted a N50m bail to former spokesman of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode. Fani-Kayode was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a five-count charge of money laundering to the tune of N26m. Fani-Kayode is the sole defendant in the fresh charges numbered, FHC/ABJ/CR/140/2016. The EFCC accused the defendant of diverting 26 million Naira allegedly received from the ONSA while Sambo Dasuki was in office. The anti-graft agency also accused him of handling the said N26 million without going through financial institution as required under the Money Laundering Act. The embattled former minister is already facing 17-count charge of money laundering before the Lagos Division of the court, along with a former Finance Minister; Nenadi Usman, Danjuma Yusuf and a firm; Joint Trust Dimension Nigeria Limited. They were charg
Post a Comment
Read more

FG berates US congressman over comment

Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture Photo: Femi Ipaye/PM News The Federal Government has described as sadly out of tune with reality the published letter from US Congressman Tom Marino to Secretary of State John Kerry, asking the US to withhold security assistance to Nigeria on the strength of some imaginary infraction by the Buhari Administration. In a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said Congressman Marino was poorly informed about the issues he commented on, wondering why he did not take the pains to get first hand information from the US Embassy in Nigeria or any other credible source before engaging in what is nothing but a ‘propaganda of his own imagination’. The Minister said by asking the US to refrain from selling warplanes and other military equipment to Nigeria based on a faulty premise, the Congressman has demonstrated a poor understanding of global security issues. ”Insecurity anywhere i
Post a Comment
Read more