ROME– The Sant’Egidio Community has appealed for the resumption of peace negotiations in Colombia amid signs an end to 50 years of bloody internal conflict is near.

 The text of the appeal, together with the list of current signatories, was presented to the press at a conference held in Sant’Egidio Community building in Trastevere Wednesday. The date was chosen purposely to honour the International Day against the Use of Child Soldiers.

  The declaration of ‘support and solidarity’, as the president of the Community, Marco Impagliazzo, refers to the appeal, has already been endorsed by such eminent international personalities as Nobel Peace Prize laureates Desmond Tutu and Adolfo Péerez Esquivel, and former presidents Jacques Chirac and Mario Soares.

  It is not an oversight that the list of supporters does not include any Colombian signatories. ‘Our intention is to encourage international support’, explains professor Riccardo Cannelli of Sant’Egidio, ‘We don’t want to interfere with local politics.’

 The Community of Sant’Egidio, a ‘Church Public Lay Association’ which claims more than 60,000 members in more than 73 countries around the world, including such Columbian localities as Bogotá and Medellin, is committed to evangelisation, ecumenism and charity, providing service to the poor and advocating inter-religious dialogue.

  In line with the resolutions of the Second Vatican Council, the Community sees negotiation as the only means of resolving conflicts, and war – ‘a defeat of humanity’, in the words of Pope Francis quoted in the appeal – should be avoided at all costs. 

 Putting a definite end to a conflict which has been going on for half a century is not simple and it takes time, but Signor Impagliazzo is optimistic: ‘It is the convergence of both wills that gives hope’.

  For the first time in years FARC, the Colombian guerrilla, have signed partial agreements with the local government, coming to an accord on the second point of the agenda agreed upon in October 2012, when the negotiations started, regarding political participation.

 Despite difficulties hindering the dialogue, ‘Peace is possible’, says Signor Impagliazzo. With the appeal, ‘we hope to provoke a change in Colombians’ mentality. Encourage optimism’.

 Although the end-date of the negotiations has not yet been determined, the representatives of the Sant’Egidio Community are convinced that the sooner an agreement is reached the better.

  The results of the upcoming elections - administrative in March and presidential in May – will undoubtedly need to be factored into the equation.

 "Whoever the Colombians choose, states professor Cannelli, we trust that they will continue to follow the path of dialogue."

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