Colombian rebel groups push for negotiations while White House calls for continued aid

Colombia’s two largest rebel groups have recently pushed for negotiations with the government in spite of the ongoing armed conflict in the country. The largest group- the FARC- said on Saturday that it was willing to exchange hostages for jailed rebels even though the government closed the door to possible talks after President Alvaro Uribe blamed the FARC for a car bombing earlier this month at a Bogota military college. Meanwhile, the second largest guerilla group- the ELN- agreed to formal peace talks with the government after having held several rounds of exploratory discussions in Cuba. Families of hostages advocating negotiations have protested several times against the Uribe administration, while the White House will call on Congress to continue providing hundreds of millions of dollars in military and counternarcotics aid to the Colombian government.

Links- ABC News (U.S.), The Economist, People’s Daily Online (China), Washington Post, International Herald Tribune

Image- Human Rights Watch (ELN guerillas in Colombia)

Tags- armed conflict, international politics, Colombia