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DATE=10/24/1999
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=COLOMBIA DEMONSTRATION (L ONLY)
NUMBER=2-255425
BYLINE=RHODA METCALFE
DATELINE=BOGOTA
INTERNET=YES
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO:  Millions of people have demonstrated in 
Colombia (Sunday), walking the streets, singing, and 
calling out for an end to the country's three-decade-
old guerrilla war.  Meanwhile, government negotiators 
and rebel leaders met to restart peace negotiations.  
As Rhoda Metcalfe reports from Bogota, the protesters 
have little faith in the future of the talks, but hope 
their show of strength will make both sides consider 
whom it is they're fighting for. 
TEXT:  /// SINGING FADES UNDER ///
Millions of Colombians gathered in parks around the 
country. They came together from the poorest and the 
richest neighborhoods, carrying children on their 
shoulders and waving small white flags of peace.  They 
sang to God, to the government, and to the guerrillas, 
pleading for an end to the country's agonizing war. 
            /// OLD WOMAN SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
We're so tired of the violence, so tired, said one 73-
year-old woman.  She said, this country is so 
beautiful, but we're destroying it.  Her own family 
has been split up by the war - her grandsons live in 
hiding - fearful of being recruited by the rebels. 
The crowds were full of victims -- families who have 
lost children and parents to kidnappings by the 
leftist guerrillas and massacres by the rightist 
paramilitary forces.
            /// MELENDEZ SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
Ruth Melendez, a small woman with dark tragic eyes, 
explains that she's haunted by the thought of her son. 
He was a soldier, captured 17 months ago by the 
guerrillas. She is praying that the peace 
negotiations, which restarted Sunday in the eastern 
city of Uribe between the guerrillas and the 
government, will eventually lead to the release of her 
son. 
Many Colombians have lost all patience with the 
guerrillas, who theoretically are fighting for the 
poor, but who have become masters at kidnappings and 
extortion.
            /// SANCHEZ SPANISH ACT FADES UNDER ///
The guerrillas are just laughing at us, says Ruth 
Lijia Sanchez. She says they are not really interested 
in peace talks. 
Many Colombians agree with her. And that's why they 
turned out en masse, hoping that their pleas for peace 
will not be ignored. (Signed)
NEB/rm/gm
24-Oct-1999 19:49 PM EDT (24-Oct-1999 2349 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.