But many in Congress criticise the law, and are reluctant to finance the demobilisation.
The ceremony coincides with the 60th anniversary of the demobilisation of the last Bevin Boys.
UN's costly 18-month demobilisation programme looks in retrospect like an all-expenses-paid rest programme for rebel soldiers.
The deserter, whose name has not been disclosed, will be given a new identity in accordance with Colombia's guerrilla demobilisation plan.
The demobilisation that followed the end of the war with Eritrea has dispersed infected soldiers and camp-following prostitutes all over the country.
The agenda does not contemplate a ceasefire, let alone the guerrillas' demobilisation.
Until recently, it had 100, 000 men under arms (with only 4m people) and demobilisation has been slow, with little employment at the end.
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But the army's top brass, as divided on the question of reform as the country, fears that demobilisation might further inflame the political atmosphere.
The money from Italy will be invested in health and education projects as well as rebuilding road infrastructure and the demobilisation of Ethiopian troops.
He is due to receive another motorbike under the demobilisation scheme, which he will sell, doubtless at a hefty discount, to pay off his debts.
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The president was speaking shortly after high-ranking Farc commander Mauricio Jaramillo said the rebels were "fully committed" to a process that could culminate in the surrender of arms and the demobilisation of forces.
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Officials argue that overall levels of violence have fallen steadily over the past decade, as a result of the demobilisation of many of the right-wing paramilitary groups and the army's success against the FARC guerrillas of the left.
Last year, as mid-ranking figures continued to give their testimony to the hearings, most of the paramilitaries' top leaders were extradited to the United States for violating the rules of their demobilisation by continuing to run illegal networks from their detention cells.
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