Colombia announces talks with guerrilla

UNITED NATIONS - Colombia on Wednesday announced peace talks with the guerrilla starting from next month to put an end to an internal conflict in the Latin American country, one of the  longest in the world, in order to pave the way for its further political and social development.

Juan Manuel Santos, the president of Colombia, made the statement as he was addressing the General Debate of the 67th session of the UN General Assembly, which entered its second day here on Wednesday.

With the help of countries in the regional and other members of the international community, the Colombian government and the guerrilla have been engaged in peace talks to end the conflict, which is "absurd" and blocked the efforts for economic advancement and social progress, the president said.

"Our progress  - which has been remarkable - has been restraint by an absurd conflict that has been going on for more than a half a century," he said.

"Today, Colombia suffers through the most prolonged internal armed conflict in the region, one of the longest in the world, an ever more anachronistic and unexplainable conflict in light of the development of our democracy and our social progress," he said.

"Aware of this - and without neglecting protecting the safety of our citizens, without giving up a millimeter in the fight against terrorism and crime - my government has made the decision to move forward - prudently, seriously, firmly and without repeating the mistakes of the past - with conversations with the guerrilla to achieve an end to the armed conflict," he said.

"After two years of exploratory contacts, we have announced to the country and to the world the beginning of a talks phase on a short and concrete agenda, which we remain hopeful will lead to the desired outcome," he said.

The talks will begin in Oslo, Norway, in the first half of October and will continue in Havana, Cuba, with the help from the two governments, "who will serve as guarantors," he said.

"We will also have the backing of the government of Venezuela - to whom we are grateful for their valuable support - and of the government of Chile, who will be with us starting now," he said.

"Today, before this General Assembly, I wish to thank the international community for the support they have expressed at outset of these talks, as well as for their willingness to help in whatever is needed," he said.

After fighting for power for some 50 years, a Colombian rebel group is now opting to negotiate a peace deal with President Santos' government and bring the country's slow-burning but brutal conflict to an end, reports said on Wednesday.

Santos' recent announcement that his government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, would engage in talks also has the support of the United States, which has provided 9 billion U.S. dollars in mostly military aid since 2000 to help Colombia battle the rebels and drug-trafficking groups.

But in the heartland of the FARC - a rugged, mountainous swath in southern Tolima state where the insurgency was born in 1964 - many people remain wary. For too many years, war is all they have known, and previous pledges of peace talks have always come up empty, the reports said.