Colombia Shined as 'Country of the Year' in 2016: Santos

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos heralded Colombia as the “country of the year” in 2016, celebrating in his year end address Saturday the end of over half a century of civil war with the nation’s largest revolutionary guerrilla army.

ANALYSIS: 
20 Years on, Guatemalan Peace Can Be a Lesson for Colombia

“The peace accords is a goal that despite having sought it for many years, we had not been able to achieve,” Santos said in a televised addressed, referring to the historic peace deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC. “This year we did it!”

“And not only did we sign the peace agreement, we also started to implement it,” he added, noting that the bilateral cease-fire between government forces and the FARC, launched at the end of August, has helped reduce violence in the country. “The benefits have already started to be felt.”

With respect to progress toward building stable and lasting peace, Santos said that “reparations for victims moves forward and the restitution of land has allowed thousands of displaced families to return to their homes.”

In his address, Santos also claimed advances in Colombia’s education, health care, the fight against corruption and other issues.

Last year, Santos launched the new year by declaring that 2016 would be the “year of peace” in the South American country, marking the end of more than five decades of civil war with the FARC guerrilla rebels.

RELATED: 
Colombia Prepares List of Those Who Will Receive War Amnesty

Santos and FARC leader Rodrigo Londoño, better known by his alias Timoleon Jimenez or Timochenko, signed revised peace accords in Bogota on Nov. 24, more than a month after the original landmark deal was voted down at the polls in the Oct. 2 plebiscite on the deal.

The president was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts in brokering the end of the conflict with the FARC. The other side of the negotiating table was not officially recognized for its role in securing peace.

Colombia’s 52-year armed conflict claimed the lives of more than half a million people and displaced more than 7 million more.

After the signing of the landmark peace agreement and approval in Congress of a key amnesty law pardoning FARC members for political crimes — not human rights crimes — rebels have begun the process of demobilizing, moving into transition camps to lay down their arms, reintegrate into civilian life and reorganize as a political party.

Santos noted that despite progress, many hurdles lie ahead, most notably challenges linked to “reconciliation and the construction of peace.”

The president closed his address calling on Colombians to “leave behind hate” in order to build a country of “diversity, tolerance and respect.”