MILLIONS RALLY IN COLOMBIA

Largest Protest Ever Against The Civil War

BOGOTA, Colombia -- As government and rebel negotiators began long-delayed
peace talks, millions of Colombians took to the streets Sunday in the
largest demonstrations ever against this nation's 35-year civil war.

"This is unprecedented. The Colombian peace movement is starting to gain the
upper hand," said Francisco Santos, news editor of the Bogota daily El
Tiempo who helped plan the marches.

Simultaneous peace rallies were held in cities throughout Colombia and the
world, including Houston, New York, Paris, London, Madrid, Caracas,
Venezuela, and Lima, Peru.

The marches were broadcast live by Colombian television stations. Turnout
was enormous. Organizers claimed that over 10 million Colombians
demonstrated, a figure that could not be independently confirmed. Police
estimated the number at 2 million. Many of the marchers wore green ribbons
as a symbol of peace and carried small flags with the words no mas (no more).

"This is a message (of rejection) to the perpetrators of violence in this
country," said one marcher who would not give his name.

The demonstrations were designed to increase pressure on the government and
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the nation's largest rebel group
known as the FARC, to make real progress in negotiations.

Marchers called for an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian accords to
protect civilians caught in the conflict.

Although the fighting began in 1964, the citizen-led peace movement
developed only recently -- partly because the guerrillas have grown stronger
and the fighting has intensified since the mid-1990s. Some analysts compare
it to the early days of the 1960s anti-war movement in the United States.

"People are fed up. They want a peace process," Santos said. "If we are able
to apply enough pressure, this will become a reality."

Meanwhile, the government and the FARC kicked off formal peace negotiations
in Uribe, a farming town located in a southern jungle region that was
demilitarized by the government as a goodwill gesture to encourage the peace
talks.

"Today, millions of Colombians are demanding that we begin negotiations, and
now we are," said Victor G. Ricardo, the government's peace commissioner.
"Our historic responsibility is to stay at the negotiating table until we
have a peace treaty."

Ricardo also called on the FARC to agree to a cease-fire, a demand that the
guerrillas have repeatedly rejected.

The ceremony, which was held on the town basketball court, began with
playing of the national anthem and the FARC's revolutionary hymn.
Camouflage-clad rebels carrying rifles guarded the stage, which was
decorated with a Colombian flag.

"We ratify our desire for peace with social justice," said Raul Reyes, a
FARC spokesman and one of the rebel negotiators. "This will put to test the
government's will to permit structural transformations."

The two sides will discuss a 12-point agenda that includes everything from
land reform and environmental policies to the distribution of the nation's
oil wealth.

Despite a mood of optimism in Uribe, many analysts are skeptical about the
peace process and the FARC's will to negotiate.

The FARC, which has more than 15,000 fighters, controls huge swaths of
Colombian territory and earns millions from kidnapping civilians for ransom
and by taxing and protecting drug traffickers.

President Andres Pastrana, who took office last year, pledged to end the
war, and talks with the FARC were scheduled to begin 10 months ago.

But FARC leader Manuel Marulanda skipped the Jan. 7 opening ceremony. And
the process broke down a few days later when the rebels accused the
government of supporting an offensive by right-wing paramilitaries, which
target guerrillas and their supporters.

Other problems developed when the rebels refused to allow an international
verification team to monitor the demilitarized zone, comprised of five
municipalities and slightly more than 3 percent of Colombian territory. The
FARC has been accused of kidnapping civilians and launching military attacks
from the DMZ.

In an interview with foreign reporters last week, Ricardo said that such
delays must be expected. He insisted that constant meetings over the past
year have allowed government and rebel delegates to build a measure of trust.

"Colombians are demanding that we end the war in 10 months when the conflict
has been going on for 40 years," he said. "The biggest asset we have is the
creation of mutual confidence, which is fundamental in order to reach an
agreement."

But most observers believe that negotiations could drag on for years. At the
same time, the government has requested $1.5 billion in military aid from
the United States to press the war, while the FARC continues to recruit and
train hundreds of new foot soldiers.

Antonio Navarro Wolff, a former guerrilla who is now a congressman, warned
that the war has turned into a stalemate, and military victory is impossible.

"The two sides must realize that the war is unwinnable," he told Bogota's
Caracol television. "If either side thinks they can win the war, there will
be no peace treaty."