Columbia peace talks to get underway in Cuba

(Vatican Radio) Peace talks between the Colombian Government and the country's main guerilla army start Monday in Havana, Cuba. The conflict which is Latin America's oldest, has been dragging on since 1964. It's killed hundreds of thousands and displaced many more.
The Colombian Government which is this time around adament it'll negotiate from a postion of strength, has refused repeated requests from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia- the FARC to agree to a ceasfire. It's demanding the FARC lays down its weapons, rejects violence and stops funding itself with the procedes of drug trafficking. The FARC leadership, which adheres to Marxist principals, but not as hardline as its original leadership, wants guarantees for its fighters, and is demanding its jailed comrades be freed. How its members would re-adapt into civil society and a transformation into a political party, which other guerrilla groups have achieved, has yet to be made clear.
The start of this practical round of talks, following a formal announcement in Oslo, Norway, was put back several days, for so called technical aspects to be ironed out.
The chances for a breakthrough and success are not known. The alternative is continued political stalemate, more killing and unheavel in a nation which is five decades weary of the violence. Listen to this report by James Blears