COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT, REBELS SET TO SWAP CEASE-FIRE PROPOSALS

SAN VICENTE, Colombia (Reuters) -- Marxist rebels and the government
will swap proposals Monday for the first bilateral cease-fire in 16
years in Colombia's long-running war, but there is no real chance of
an accord for the foreseeable future, guerrilla and diplomatic sources
say.

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) is likely to make
its cease-fire offer hinge on demands the government drop a
U.S.-backed plan to unleash an offensive against drug crops and
long-standing rebel strongholds in southern Colombia, rebel sources
said. On Friday, the U.S. Congress agreed to $1.3 billion for mostly
military aid to this torn Andean nation.

Political analysts say the government proposal will almost certainly
include demands that the FARC not only halt military actions but also
"ceases hostilities" against civilians and suspend kidnappings and
extortion, which together with "taxes" on the drug trade are the main
sources of rebel financing.

Peace talks with the FARC were formally launched in January last year
but until now both sides insisted there could be no lull in the
conflict that has cost more than 35,000 lives in the last 10 years.
But more recently both public opinion among war-weary citizens and the
government have put pressure on the rebels to silence their rifles.

"It's a step forward that both sides have agreed to start discussions
on a cease-fire. I think, however, it's going to be difficult because
the positions will not be overlapping at least for the foreseeable
future," United Nations special envoy to Colombia Jan Egeland told
Reuters late Friday.

"That's why it's so important to reach a humanitarian accord to
protect the civilian population," added the former Norwegian foreign
minister.

Until now the FARC, with some 17,000 combatants and control of up to
40 percent of the country, had ruled out any cease-fire until 80
percent of its demands for sweeping land reform, wealth redistribution
and an end to free market economic policies were met. To date there
has been no agreement on a single issue on the 12-point negotiating
agenda.

Throughout slow-moving negotiations, the rebels have maintained their
goal of taking national power by peaceful or violent means and setting
up a socialist-style regime.

FARC warlords have been tight-lipped on the details of their
cease-fire proposal ahead of Monday's meeting which will take place in
this Switzerland-sized region of southeast Colombia cleared of
government troops nearly two years ago as a forum for peace talks.

But rebel sources said the proposal was almost certain to cover a
fixed period of perhaps three months that could later be extended by
mutual agreement.

In addition to trying to block a U.S.-backed military thrust into FARC
strongholds in the south, the rebels seem set to reiterate calls for
the government to force outlaw ultra-right paramilitary gangs to join
the cease-fire.

International human rights groups and even the State Department have
accused government security forces of wholesale backing for the
right-wing gangs in a dirty war against the guerrillas and their
civilian sympathizers.

"The government is never going to go for these conditions and the
whole peace process could end with the cease-fire proposal unless the
government decides to skirt the issue and get on to something else,"
said a rebel commander, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The last bilateral cease-fire between the FARC and government came at
the start of ultimately unsuccessful peace talks in 1984. The truce
broke down after little more than a year with both sides claiming the
other had violated the deal.

Fresh cease-fire proposals were floated at separate peace talks in
1992 but failed to bear fruit after three months of discussions.