From: "Stasi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [Peoples War] Xinhua: Clombian Gov't-Rebel Talks Fruitless as Sunday Deadline Looms Clombian Gov't-Rebel Talks Fruitless as Sunday Deadline Looms Xinhuanet 2002-01-20 12:19:10 ����BOGOTA, January 19 (Xinhuanet) -- The Colombian government and the country's largest guerrilla group FARC concluded their another round of peace talks on Saturday without any agreement on a working timetable on the future peace talks. ����The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had been pressurized to accept a government-proposed timetable for talks on a ceasefire and an end to hostilities, before a Sunday deadline set by President Andres Pastrana. ����After the nearly eight-hour talks, government chief negotiator Camilo Gomez told reporters that the two sides will meet again Sunday when a "definitive" agreement is expected to be achieved to save the on-again-off-again peace process, formally initiated in January 1999. ����"The atmosphere is encouraging out there so that a consensus is likely to be reached Sunday on the government-proposed schedule (leading to a ceasefire) before the life of the demilitarized zone expires," Gomez said. ����The 42,000-square-kilometer neutral zone in southern Colombia was ceded by the government to the FARC in December 1998 in a bid to promote peace. The rebels will have to leave the area from midnight on Sudnay if the two sides fail to attain the much-expected accord. ����"We have been working hard though all the day with the participation of the international community. We have made some advances but more job is still needed," Gomez indicated. ����Meanwhile, he condemned the new wave of offensives committed by the 16,500-strong FARC in different regions across the country Saturday, specially an ambush in a western rural area which killed 15 soldiers. Enditem _________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki Phone +358-40-7177941 Fax +358-9-7591081 http://www.kominf.pp.fi General class struggle news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe mails to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Geopolitical news: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________
