COLOMBIA PEACE PROCESS REVIVED

2 Sides Agree On Timetable For Cease-Fire

LOS POZOS, Colombia -- After a week of intense negotiations, the
government and rebel fighters signed off on a timetable for a
bilateral cease-fire Sunday, averting an escalation of violence and
reviving a peace process that has been three years in the making.

The accord came hours before the abolition of a haven that would have
sent troops into a territory in southern Colombia where the rebels
have been allowed to roam freely.

Both sides agreed to take steps, beginning Jan. 23, to achieve a
cease-fire by April 7.

Among the issues that will be addressed are a commitment by the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, to bring an end to
kidnappings and by the government to reign in rightist paramilitary
groups.

Candidates Invited

The accord also calls for inviting presidential candidates to the
negotiation table, informing the public of progress made and finding a
way to help the unemployed.

The country has an unemployment rate of 20 percent.

A significant component of the document deals with the U.S.-backed
drug eradication program. The FARC said it would no longer oppose the
program, so long as the communities affected are consulted.

After the accord, Camilo Gomez, the government's top negotiator, said:
"I am starting to believe that peace in Colombia is possible."

The deal between President Andres Pastrana and the FARC could mark a
new stage in a 38-year civil conflict.

The consensus means the FARC can remain in a demilitarized zone that
is one-third the size of Florida, so long as it commits to ending
violence, kidnapping, extortion and destruction of
infrastructure.

Rebel negotiator Raul Reyes said that in addition to cease-fire talks,
the FARC wanted to discuss steps to clamp down on an outlawed right-
wing paramilitary group and to introduce unemployment compensation for
Colombians.

The government says that while talking peace, the FARC has waged an
offensive during the past few days, killing 12 government soldiers on
Saturday. The president of Congress, Carlos Garcia, said Saturday
night that the rebel attacks appeared aimed at pressuring the
government and weakening its negotiating position.

James LeMoyne, the United Nations envoy, was credited with salvaging
talks after they collapsed a week ago and brought the nation to the
brink of full-scale war.

LeMoyne's role as facilitator is the first time the FARC has agreed to
the presence of international observers at the negotiating table. They
included diplomats from France, Spain, Venezuela, Canada, Sweden,
Switzerland, Cuba, Mexico, Italy, Norway and the Roman Catholic
Church. Though violence is expected to level off -- at least in the
short term -- the deal reached with the 17,500-member guerrilla force
will not bring a halt to turmoil affecting the nation, analysts said.

War Has Widened

Though the civil war was begun by the FARC, it now includes smaller
guerrilla forces such as the 3,500-strong National Liberation Army, or
ELN, which like the FARC is engaged in battle against government
troops and the paramilitaries grouped under the United Self-Defense
Forces of Colombia, or AUC. An estimated 3,600 people die each year as
a result of the conflict.

The biggest challenge for the government will be to reign in an
estimated 8,000 paramilitaries. The illegal militias are notorious for
their brutal massacres of civilians they suspect of being rebel
sympathizers.