COLOMBIA AND REBELS AGREE ON RESTARTING PEACE TALKS

LOS POZOS, Colombia, Feb. 9 — President Andres Pastrana and the leader of
the country's largest rebel group announced today a broad agreement aimed
at restarting formal peace talks that have been suspended since November.

Sitting side by side at a news conference here in rebel-held territory, Mr.
Pastrana and the leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia,
Manuel Marulanda, announced details of a 13-point plan that averts, at
least for now, the possibility of all-out war. The two leaders, who had met
for 15 hours over two days, said negotiations on resolving the 37-year-old
conflict would resume on Wednesday.

"We talked about all the themes, all the themes that we had to debate," Mr.
Pastrana said. "We talked about what we've advanced on, what we hadn't
advanced on, what errors we committed, how we can overcome them.

"It was two days of much work, two days of great use. And I think the
conclusion, as I've said, is that we've revived the process of peace in our
country."

Mr. Marulanda, who began fighting the government in the 1950's and helped
found the rebel force known as FARC in 1964, was more reserved as he sat
before the cameras, an unusual gesture for a man who avoids publicity.
Asked several questions, the leader — dressed in his trademark camouflage
uniform, with a sidearm hanging off his belt — reaffirmed his support for
the accord.

Earlier in the day, however, he was asked about the $1.1 billion United
States aid package to Colombia, most of it in military hardware and efforts
to denude the vast coca fields. "Instead of investing the money in war, it
should be invested in social programs," Mr. Marulanda said as he waited for
Mr. Pastrana's helicopter to arrive from elsewhere in the rebel zone.

The accord today was vague. It declared that both sides "ratify their will"
to continue talks and called on all Colombians to "rally around this common
effort that could allow us to overcome the conflict that affects us."

Called the Los Pozos Accord, named for this southern hamlet in the heart of
the rebel area that was the site of peace talks for two years, the
agreement creates a commission to resolve problems that might lead to
ruptures in talks.

Another commission, made up of "national personalities," would formulate
recommendations on dealing with right-wing paramilitary groups, who are
generally thought responsible for most massacres. The government's lack of
control of the paramilitary forces was the reason the rebels gave for
breaking off talks on Nov. 14.

The document reaffirmed that the vast swath of territory around Los Pozos
that Mr. Pastrana ceded to the rebels in 1998 for peace talks was
"exclusively" for negotiations, a point that the government wanted included
because of allegations that the rebels had used the zone to fortify
themselves, recruit child guerrillas and commit other abuses. The accord
said a mechanism would be created before the end of next week to evaluate
periodically how the rebels use the territory.

The government's lead negotiator, Camilo Gomez, disputed assertions that
the plan failed to include substantive measures. He said negotiations would
cover topics like a cease-fire and an end to kidnappings, proposals that
have not been discussed in detail before but that the government favors.
Mr. Gomez also said the government and the rebels had advanced in talks
that would permit an exchange of sick rebels held by the government for
ailing soldiers held by the rebels.

"What we've done today permits that we advance on points of discussion in a
more concrete way," Mr. Gomez told reporters. "We have dates, specific
points to deal with. We have concrete steps to take to advance."

The talks were held after weeks in which Mr. Pastrana was under enormous
pressure. He had to decide whether to continue with efforts to jump-start
formal negotiations or to begin an offensive aimed at taking back the land
that he had ceded. Mr. Pastrana won the presidency in 1998, pledging to
bring rebel groups to the peace table.

"If the peace process ends, so does the Pastrana government," Hernando
Gomez Buendia, a columnist, wrote this week in Semana, a newsmagazine.
"Peace, in effect, has been his flag, his international calling card and
almost his only focus of attention in these last 30 months."

In the end, the president decided to meet Mr. Marulanda, the third meeting
between the two. "I am convinced of what I have been doing," Mr. Pastrana
told the nation on Jan. 31 in proposing a meeting with the rebel commander.

Mr. Pastrana has been criticized by many here for being indecisive and too
generous with concessions. But in the last week, he has placed himself
squarely in charge of efforts to jump-start the peace talks. He also
embarked on a well-publicized tour aimed at reaching out to residents in
rebel-controlled territory.

Last weekend, he took a whirlwind tour of the region, visiting ordinary
villagers and even taking over driving duties from his chauffeur. The
president's aides said his take-charge attitude was evident in the talks.

"The president was very direct, very frank about the difficulties," Mr.
Gomez said. "He firmly maintained his position."