Colombia's largest guerrilla group was in talks with United Nations and diplomatic representatives late last night, in a final and probably hopeless attempt to prevent a three-year peace process from collapsing.
The Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) rebels had announced on Saturday that they would accept the government's ultimatum to leave the demilitarised zone they had occupied since 1998. This appeared to signal the end of the process, and may put the area's inhabitants in danger from right-wing death squads.
Last week President Andres Pastrana gave the Marxist FARC a deadline of 2.30 a.m. today (Irish time) to leave the zone, which had been set up with government agreement to facilitate negotiations.
Peace talks had broken down when the government refused to relax military controls on the zone, according to the guerrillas. The government blamed the rebels for repeatedly failing to agree a ceasefire outside the zone.
Colombian army officials say up to 23,000 troops are ready to re-occupy it, along with airplanes, tanks and helicopters.
The Switzerland-sized demilitarised area, 90 miles south of the capital Bogota, was set up in November 1998, in a bid to foster talks between the government and the FARC, with the aim of bringing to an end a conflict that has lasted almost 40 years.
But although the FARC have sat down to talk with the government during the last three years, little progress has been made and the government blames the group for carrying out murders, kidnappings and drug trafficking.
United Nations General Secretary Kofi Annan's envoy to Colombia, James LeMoyne, has been meeting with rebel commanders since Friday, while keeping close contact with the government, in an attempt to hammer out an agreement that will keep talks alive. Government negotiator Camilo Gomez also travelled to the zone yesterday morning, along with diplomats from 10 other countries, to bolster the last-minute efforts. Mr Daniel Perfait, the French ambassador to Colombia and spokesman for the group of 10 foreign mediators, said they will "work until the last minute" to find a solution.
The multinational group consists of representatives of Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, Canada, Sweden, France, Spain, Italy, Norway and Switzerland. The Archbishop of Medellin, Mr Alberto Giraldo, is also participating in the diplomatic attempts to revive the talks.
However, the FARC has mentioned holding a ceremony to mark its abandonment of the zone, and its public declarations indicate it will adhere to the deadline and appear to confirm its acceptance that the negotiations are finished. While representatives of the rebel group have publicly announced that the rebels will leave the area, they have also declared their resolve to continue their campaign to overthrow the government.
On Saturday the FARC offered a plan for further talks, but the government rejected it, on the grounds that it did not go far enough.
There are now fears that the right-wing United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC), which wages an ongoing war with the FARC, will move into the area along with the army and carry out reprisals against inhabitants for their contact with the guerrillas. Some 100,000 civilians live in the demilitarised zone and many are expected to flee in fear of the paramilitaries.
Three years of strained negotiations
1998
June: President Andres Pastrana meets in southern Colombia with the leader of the FARC, Mr Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda.
November 7th: Pastrana grants FARC a demilitarised area.
1999
January 7th: Peace talks begin.
January 17th: FARC freezes negotiations, claiming the government has done nothing to fight right-wing paramilitaries.
2000
May 18th: Colombian officials cancel an international conference on illegal crops. The rebels again freeze peace talks.
September 18th: The government halts negotiations, charging that FARC rebels harboured a hijacker.
2001
January 19th: FARC asks for the demilitarised zone be extended indefinitely.
February 8th, 9th: Mr Pastrana and rebel chief Marulanda meet again and resume peace talks.
October 17: FARC halts peace negotiations until the government calls off military overflights of the demilitarised zone and closes military checkpoints outside the area.
2002
January 3rd, 4th and 8th: Negotiators meet again, but fail to break the stalemate.
January 9th: Government negotiator Camilo Gomez says the FARC "is not continuing in the peace process". Rebel leader Raul Reyes calls Mr Gomez a liar.
January 10th: Mr Pastrana sets a 9.30 p.m. January 12th (2.30 a.m. GMT January 13th) deadline for FARC to decide whether to return to talks, giving them time to meet with UN envoy James LeMoyne.
January 12th: FARC rebels present a last-minute deal. Mr Pastrana studies the document but rejects it.
January 13th: FARC rebels announce they will leave their safe haven by the government-imposed 9.30 p.m. Monday (0230 GMT today) deadline, ahead of an expected military offensive.
