_WORLD WATCH______________________________
____________________ COLOMBIA ________________

Rebels fail to cooperate
International peace effort falters
Archbishop Beniamino Stella, the papal nuncio in Colombia, has indicated that the international community is “severely disappointed” with the lack of cooperation by Colombian guerrillas in the efforts to achieve a peaceful end to years of civil warfare.

As he offered his greeting to Colombian President Andres Pastrana on behalf of the diplomatic corps, Archbishop Stella said that the latest waves of attacks by the Marxist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) had caused “a great deal of disappointment in the international community, and makes it very difficult for us to maintain our desire to cooperate actively in the process of peace and reconciliation.”

In tense negotiations carried out in the guerrilla stronghold of San Vicente del Caguan, representatives of the government and FARC had agreed to continue talks, with the assistance of the Catholic Church and the “international community”—represented by a board of ambassadors from some eight countries. Speaking at the Narino Palace, the seat of the Colombian presidency, Archbishop Stella said that the wave of attacks against civil populations by FARC in recent days, “casts a shadow of doubt about their political will to achieve peace in the country.”