-Caveat Lector-
Leftist rebels unwilling to restart Colombia peace talks
By CESAR GARCIA
The Associated Press
12/9/00 5:53 PM
SAN VICENTE DEL CAGUAN, Colombia (AP) -- Colombian rebels on Saturday
refused to resume peace talks, despite the government's move this week to
appease the group by extending the time it can stay in its stronghold.
The leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, said a freeze
in peace talks it declared last month would remain in effect until the
government produces a plan to curb violence by rival rightist
paramilitaries.
"We hope the government will tell all Colombians and the international
community what its strategy is to fight the paramilitaries," FARC spokesman
Raul Reyes told reporters from this southern town in the zone.
There was no immediate reaction from the government, which had hoped its
extension through January of FARC rule over the area would bring the rebels
back to the table, where a sweeping negotiating agenda awaits.
The area is a swath of land the size of New Jersey that the government ceded
to FARC two years ago to host peace talks. If talks remain frozen past Jan.
31, there's a strong possibility the government could send in troops.
While giving no indication his group would restart the talks, Reyes
confirmed it was preparing to exchange a group of ill prisoners with the
government.
The government announced Thursday that a swap deal was in the works, but
gave no timetable or details. The rebels hold more than 500 police officers
and soldiers captive, and have hundreds of their fighters in government
jails.
A prisoner swap would be the most tangible result to date of peace talks to
end the 36-year internal conflict began nearly two years ago inside the
zone.
The paramilitary United Self Defense Forces of Colombia has committed
widespread massacres of unarmed peasants they accuse of sympathizing with
the rebels. In a report this week, Human Rights Watch said the paramilitary
group continued to operate with military support, and was responsible for 78
percent of the human rights violations in Colombia.
The conflict claims some 3,000 lives a year, mostly unarmed civilians caught
in the cross fire. Colombia is receiving $1.3 billion in mostly military aid
from the United States to battle the cocaine trade that inflames the
conflict.
Copyright 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not
be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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