_WORLD WATCH______________________________
____________________ Colombia ________________

A dramatic truce appeal
An archbishop’s desperate initiative
In an unprecedented move, Archbishop Isaías Duarte Cancino of Cali sent letters to Colombian President Andres Pastrana and the leaders of the main Colombian guerrilla organizations late in December, proposing a five-year truce in the nation’s civil war. The truce would be used, the archbishop proposed, to negotiate “a real and thorough peace agreement.”

Archbishop Duarte Cancino sent copies of his message to media outlets in Colombia, shortly after the two guerilla groups—the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)—had made his proposal public. In his appeal, the archbishop called for “five years of peace, in which Colombians can concentrate on rebuilding the country, healing wounds, and letting Colombians fearlessly decide what is best for the nation.”

Archbishop Duarte earned a reputation for success in his negotiations with the guerrillas during his service as a bishop in the hotly contested region of Apartado. Now he called on the guerillas, as well as the government, to make a firm commitment to the peace process. He proposed that during the five-year truce “the guerrillas and armed groups would commit themselves not to carry out violent actions, acts of destruction, or kidnapping,” while the government would commit itself to “provide an unprecedented example of honesty, accountability, and transparency” in political leadership.

“Colombia wants peace, and everyone is willing to join the adventure by making an extra effort, going an extra mile to make sure that peace is achieved,” the archbishop said. “The people don’t want to continue with this senseless, absurd bloodshed, which is leading us nowhere.”

The Archbishop of Cali said he expected a response from the armed groups by Christmas, and said that the first sign would be “the release of all those who have been kidnapped.” Unfortunately, he was disappointed. His call for a truce went unanswered, and the country’s civil war seemed likely to enter a bloody new phase after the collapse of an ad hoc agreement between the government and guerilla leaders regarding a large “free zone” controlled by FARC in south-central Colombia.

For three years, the government had engaged in on-again, off-again talks with FARC leaders, and Pastrana had signaled his desire for an accord by promising that his army would not attack the FARC sanctuary: a heavily forested region in which FARC in effect governed the 90,000 residents. But in January, citing FARC’s repeated failure to negotiate in good faith, Pastrana announced that all deals were off, and his soldiers mobilized for an assault on the FARC zone.

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