merrion street

The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan TD, has welcomed the announcement that Colombian President, Juan Manuel Santos, has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.
In welcoming the announcement, Minister Flanagan said:
“President Santos has taken enormous risks in working for peace in Colombia. He has risked his political career in negotiating with the FARC guerrilla movement and has demonstrated resolute leadership in trying to end a half century of conflict in Colombia.
“I am delighted that the Nobel Committee has chosen to honour President Santos and hope that this award will inspire all those involved in the Colombian peace process to continue to work for peace and reconciliation.
‘It is my strong view that there still remains a real opportunity to bring a definitive end to a conflict which has devastated Colombian society for more than half a century. As we know from our own experience here in Ireland, peace processes are complicated and can suffer unexpected setbacks. It is important that all parties to the conflict remain focused on their ultimate objective – bringing peace to their country and improving the lives of present and future generations.’


Note to editors
President Juan Manuel Santos has been awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Peace for his role in initiating peace talks with the FARC guerrilla movement (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias Colombianas) and for putting the resulting agreement to the Colombian people in a plebiscite on 2 October, 2016. The agreement was narrowly rejected by 50.2 percent to 49.8 percent in the vote, which had a turnout of less than 40 percent of the eligible electorate. Exploratory talks are now underway in Colombia to salvage the peace process.