Colombian president calls for deadline in peace talks with FARC

(Vatican Radio) Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos is calling for a deadline in the two-year peace talks aimed at ending a half-century conflict with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, commonly known as the FARC.

Listen to the report by James Blears:

 
The killing of 11 Colombian soldiers by a unit of the FARC, which contravened its unilateral ceasefire announced in December, has put pressure on the government to take a harder line.

Accordingly, mid-week Santos announced the resumption of bombing raids against FARC camps and bases.

The other knock-on effect has placed the spotlight on the snail’s pace of the peace talks, which have been meandering along  in Havana, Cuba, for two pedestrian years.

Santos, who successfully staked his re-election on backing the peace talks, stressed: "We must put deadlines on this process, and if the FARC wants peace, they must show this with deeds."

The most important peace issue is the disarmament of the FARC and its transformation from a war machine into a political party. This hasn't yet been resolved. 

There's still a very long way to go, to resolve a conflict which started in 1964, and has since permanently scarred a nation.