By Wendy Anders

This afternoon, the Washington Post reported from Havana, Cuba that an agreement was reached by the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) leftist rebel group to end the continent’s longest conflict after after 52 years of fighting.

After nearly four years of negotiations and a ceasefire announced in June, “’We have finished fighting with weapons, and will now do battle with ideas,’” said FARC chief negotiator Ivan Marquez to the Washington Post. A former congressman, Marquez started fighting after many other leftist politicians were assassinated by right-wing groups in Colombia in the 1980s.

The remaining step to sealing the agreement is a public vote when the agreement is put before Colombian voters as a plebiscite on October 2, continued the Post.

Former Colombian President Alvaro Uribe is spearheading a public campaign to dissuade voters from voting for the agreement, reported the Post, saying it is too lax on former rebels who were involved with kidnapping, narco-trafficking, and other crimes.

According to the Post, “Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos followed the announcement with a nationally televised address, summarizing the deal’s main points for a Colombian public that retains a large measure of skepticism and confusion about the agreement.”

The decades-long conflict left more than 220,000 Colombians killed in fighting and nearly 7 million have been driven from their homes, according to the Post.

Costa Rica has been a major recipient of Colombian immigrants seeking a peaceful life outside of their country, according to the International Migration Organization.

The Post reported that, “One element of the accord made public for the first time Wednesday that is likely to stir controversy governs the FARC’s return to representative politics. Under the agreement, the rebels will be given a limited number of seats in Colombia’s congress and senate for an initial period of time.

The FARC representatives will be allowed to speak in the chambers on legislation, but not vote. Rebel commanders would eventually be able to run for political office as full representatives if they are cleared of war crimes and other criminal charges.”

If voters approve the peace agreement in October, it would become law, leading to a demobilization of the FARC’s 7,000 fighters over a 6-month period under the supervision and monitoring of the United Nations, said the Post.

The Post went on to note that, “One point of concern for the FARC commanders has been when their fighters would leave their mountain redoubts and move into U.N. camps. They have been reluctant to make that move before the plebiscite is completed, fearing that if it fails, the rebels would be stuck in the camps and partially disarmed, even as fighting could resume. Neither side said Wednesday when the guerrillas would begin their demobilization.”

The Santos government acknowledged that there are still other negotiations to be continued as his government continues to struggle to conduct talks with a smaller guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN, who they fear may seek to bolster their forces with disaffected FARC rebels, said the Post.