ASSESSMENTS

Colombian Government and Rebels Talk Peace

Sep 4, 2012 | 10:02 GMT

Colombian President Juan Manel Santos (C) with soldiers in San Jose del Guaviare

MAURICIO DUENAS/AFP/GettyImages

Summary

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos on Sept. 4 is expected to deliver a speech officially announcing peace negotiations with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the country's largest rebel group. Formal negotiations will begin Oct. 5 in Oslo and will later move to Havana. The country's second-largest rebel group, the National Liberation Army, also announced Aug. 27 its willingness to enter into unconditional negotiations with the government. Various factors are moving Bogota and the rebels toward negotiations. However, while a peace agreement may be more realistic now than it was during the last round of talks in 1999, genuine peace may prove elusive.

While prospects for an agreement with the rebel groups have improved, peace may prove elusive....

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