REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BOGOTA -- On Thursday night, thousands of people took to the streets of Bogota to celebrate the ceasefire agreement signed between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in Havana.

The gamut of emotions ran from tears to applause and messages of hope from those who feel that a war lasting more than five decades may have finally ended.

The agreement guarantees that the FARC will proceed with a complete disarmament, under the supervision of the UN.

In Bogota, most of those celebrating were left-wing supporters, who feel that bullets will now be replaced by civilized dissent and that true democracy can finally be built in Colombia.

Fabian Gomez, an activist from the Communist Youth of Colombia, told Xinhua that "this is the beginning of a larger process in which people will have to grow a conscience and move beyond vengeance and resentment. We must begin a task of education, in cities as in the countryside, to build a social and political network which allows them to live in peace. This is a long task that must begin as quickly as possible."

Professors and students also manifested their pleasure at the agreement, which will hopefully make acts of violence a chapter of history.

Carlos Ochoa, a teacher in Bogota, said that, while he is happy, no signatures can eliminate Colombia's heritage of conflict.

"This is only a step which involves disarmament. However, the historic social conflicts that Colombia has experienced remain. We hope that new conditions will create a space for the resolution of lingering problems, including severe inequality and poverty, as well as evictions and systematic robbery by multinationals," said Ochoa.

However, not all Colombians are celebrating. Senator Alvaro Uribe, who was president from 2002 to 2010, told a press conference that he was vehemently opposed to the deal.

According to Uribe, this deal offers a window of impunity for those guilty of kidnapping, recruiting minors to fight, bombings and rapes. To him, many such criminals will now never see the inside of a jail cell but could also seek political office.

"The concept of peace has been wounded by a government, which has deceived its people and manipulated the law to chance the constitution. It has granted official recognition to a terrorist group. The government has submitted to this group instead of making it submit," Uribe said.

Countering Uribe's view, Jose Cuesta, a political activist, said: "How can we not be happy. We have seen millions of victims, we have a number of displaced higher than those in Syria and Iraq. These are enough reasons to feel joy in our hearts."

Katherine Miranda, an activist for the Yes to Peace movement, told Xinhua: "It is very easy to attack this peace process from an office. When one has lived through war, when one has been a victim of conflict, one knows this process is completely necessary. I ask all Colombians to embrace peace. It is not worth seeing one more dead Colombian."

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