COLOMBIA EMBRACES CEASE-FIRE PLEDGE

BOGOTA, Colombia - The government reacted positively Friday to a
declaration of a unilateral truce by a feared paramilitary group that has
waged a brutal campaign against leftist rebels and their
supporters.President Alvaro Uribe already was studying the communique in
which the right-wing United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia pledged to
begin an indefinite cease-fire Sunday, presidential spokesman Ricardo Galan
said.

"He finds it intriguing," Galan said. "It seems to be a good step forward."

Galan said Uribe even would consider an amnesty for the paramilitary
leaders. The loose association of right-wing militias has been accused of
committing the most atrocities in Colombia's war.

The declaration by the paramilitary umbrella group, known in its Spanish
initials as the AUC, came after it held secret exploratory talks with the
government, facilitated by the Catholic Church.

The cease-fire declaration - which effects about two-thirds of all
paramilitary fighters - was sent to the AP on Thursday and then posted on
the AUC Web site Friday.

In it, the AUC appealed to the Catholic Church to supervise formal peace
talks and asked for the United Nations and the Organization of American
States to also participate.

Cardinal Pedro Rubiano, the most senior prelate in the country, is willing
to facilitate the talks, the Archdiocese of Bogota said in a statement.
There was no immediate reaction from the United Nations or the OAS.

AUC bosses Carlos Castano and Salvatore Mancuso face numerous criminal
charges in Colombia and are both wanted in the United States on charges of
drug trafficking. Possible amnesty for them is "something we'll be looking
at," Galan said.

Although the development raised little hope that an end to Colombia's
38-year war was in sight - mostly because leftist rebels have rejected
appeals for them to declare a cease-fire - the AUC statement engendered
hope that at least the fighting might be less bloody.

"Colombians are tired of this conflict," Senate President Luis Alfredo
Ramos said. "I hope that the national government and the president can
establish communication with all the illegal groups."

The AUC encompasses about 70 percent of all paramilitary fighters in Colombia.