The President of Colombia Alvaro Uribe has accepted an offer made by the country’s Roman Catholic bishops to serve as mediators between the government and the country’s left-wing rebels.
The bishops have been given the go-ahead by the President to help negotiate a cease-fire with rebel groups like the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The President announced after a meeting with the bishops that “the government accepts the Church’s efforts for a preliminary dialogue aimed at a ceasefire.”
Uribe said on assuming power in 2002 that there would be no talks until FARC and other rebels laid down their arms. The acceptance of church mediation by the renowned hardliner has been viewed by some as a carrot-and-stick tactic to kickstart a peace process.
The country has been at civil war for 41 years.
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