MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Colombian government and guerrillas begin this week peace talks in Oslo

An opportunity that we cannot waste, President Santos told the UN Assembly

Colombia's government and rebel guerrillas will sit down this week in Norway, and later in Cuba, to start peace talks aimed at ending nearly half a century of conflict, a task to which both sides have anticipated their full commitment.

President Juan Manuel Santos is attempting what many other leaders have tried but failed to do in the past - reach a negotiated deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and bring peace to Latin America's fastest growing economy.

The former defence minister has seen his popularity stand over the last year with former President Alvaro Uribe, for long a close ally, leading criticism that Santos has been too soft on the FARC. But a peace agreement before the next election in 2014 would all but guarantee Santos a second term.

While security has improved by leaps and bounds since a US-backed offensive against FARC rebels and drug barons began a decade ago and the security forces have significantly debilitated the guerrillas, they still remain a threat and this weekend blew two pylons and interrupted traffic in a highway with explosives. They are estimated to have 9.000 men in arms, down from 30.000 a few years ago.

Analysts say it is clear the conflict cannot be won by military means alone and the government has a greater chance of negotiating an end to the war from a position of strength than of completely wiping out the rebels.

“We take on these talks with moderate optimism but with the absolute conviction that it is an opportunity that we cannot waste,” Santos told the UN General Assembly late last month.

Nearly two years of secret talks in Cuba led to the formal discussions, which start in Norway this week and then move to Havana. Santos hopes the peace process can be successful within months.

The Colombian government delegation is made up of former Vice-president Humberto de la Calle; Retired Army General Jorge Rojas; Retired Police General Oscar Naranjo; Peace Commissioner Sergio Jaramillo; former Environment minister Frank Pearl and businessman Luis Carlos Villegas.

The group was scheduled to leave for Oslo on Sunday but electric storms and hail allegedly prevented air traffic for hours in the capital Bogotá.

The FARC delegation which had to leave from Havana apparently has had problems getting all its members together. FARC number 2 and head of the group Ivan Marquez hadn’t arrived to Havana on Sunday. Other members include commanders Marcos Calarcá, Rodrigo Granda, Andres Paris and Simon Trinidad. But Trinidad is imprisoned in the US and the Colombian government has suggested he can join through a video-conference.

Last week a group of twelve guerrillas that will support the main negotiating team were flown from the Colombian jungle to Havana accompanied by representatives from Norway and Cuba.

Another irritating problem could be the presence of Dutch guerrilla Tanaja Nimmeijer who joined FARC in 1998, but the Colombian government is not pleased with ‘non Colombians’ in the talks. FARC says part of the agreement was that each side nominated freely the names of its negotiation team members.