Colombia peace agreement a good thing

Re Colombians uneasy about guerilla deal, July 1 Reporter Nicholas Keung claims that many Colombians living in Canada feel uneasy about a crucial interim agreement reached between the Colombian government and the FARC insurgency.

Yet it has established a reciprocal truce, crucial for the continuance of the negotiations. It puts an end to armed attacks, hostage-taking and indiscriminate bombings, which have mostly hurt the civilian population.

This deal was strongly supported by Colombian social movements and all organizations of victims of the social and armed conflict. And a now assiduously pursued final peace agreement is to achieve a political solution.

In order to fully pacify the country, President Juan Manuel Santos also has to enter into serious negotiations with the second insurgency, the ELN, thus also initiating a process of demilitarizing the country and of bringing the scourge of paramilitarism under control.

The importance of what has been achieved is highlighted by the fact that the general secretary of the United Nations was present for the signing ceremony, as well as representatives of the U.S. government, the European Union, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States and three Latin American presidents. Dieter Misgeld, Toronto

Comic’s message unsuitable

Re The Family Circus comic, July 2 One of my favourite cartoons is the Family Circus in which two kids watch an ambulance rushing by. One says, “Somebody is in trouble,” while the other says, “Somebody is getting help.”

So I was really disappointed to see the one for the Fourth of July, which shows a little boy in a soldier’s cap carrying a gun in preparation for marching in the parade. Neither funny nor patriotic for a country with so many random shootings.

Bad enough that the U.S. is the source of illegal guns here. Is the idea of children carrying guns really something we need to import? Marcia Zalev, Toronto