Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos awarded 2016 Nobel Peace Prize

Santos has been hailed for his efforts to end a 52-year-long war with FARC rebels in Colombia.

By: News Desk |
October 7, 2016 6:20 pm

Tags: Nobel prize,

Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos has been awarded this year’s Nobel Prize for Peace.

The announcement comes less than a week after Colombians rejected a peace deal in a referendum to end a 52-year-long war with the FARC guerrilas.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said the award should also be seen “as a tribute to the Colombian people who, despite great hardships and abuses, have not given up hope of a just peace, and to all the parties who have contributed to the peace process”.

Santos has promised to revive a peace plan even though Colombians, in a referendum on Sunday, narrowly rejected the accord. Many voters reckoned it was too lenient on the FARC guerrillas.

The Nobel Peace Prize, worth 8 million Swedish crowns (USD 930,000), will be presented in Oslo on December 10.

-With Reuters and AP inputs