Thousands of Colombians march to support peace (PHOTOS) .

[Judi Lynn]

Thousands of Colombians march to support peace (PHOTOS) .
Tuesday, 09 April 2013 11:53 Johnny Crisp

Tens of thousands of people on Tuesday took to the streets in several cities in Colombia to march for peace between rebel group FARC and the government.

The people marched to demonstrate their support for the peace process and to remember the victims of Colombia’s armed conflict, as well as marking the 65 years of violence since the assassination of iconic populist politician Jorge Eliecer Gaitan in 1948.

Early Tuesday, Bogota's city government estimated that as many as 800,000 people were set to march across the country, concentrating in Bogota, Medellin, and other major ciities. Mayor Gustavo Petro has said at least 200,000 people followed Juan Manuel Santos out of the Historical Memorial Center.

Opponents of the march, like former President Alvaro Uribe, stressed the lack of turnout outside of Bogota.

Photos at link:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/28867-thousands-of-colombians-march-for-peace-photos.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Santos leads march for peace in Colombia

Santos leads march for peace in Colombia
Tuesday, 09 April 2013 21:10
Posted by Muhammad Iqbal

BOGOTA: Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos led a march for peace through Bogota Tuesday, calling for an end to decades of armed conflict at a time when peace talks in Havana are under fire from his predecessor Alvaro Uribe.

Hundreds of soldiers joined Santos and his cabinet ministers at the Plaza of the Fallen Heroes, one of seven starting points for the march by thousands of people, many of them in white T-shirts and carrying white flags.

"We have to end this nightmare of 65 years," said Santos, referring to the 1948 assassination of liberal leader Jorge Eliecer Gaitan, which ignited a long period of political unrest known as "La Violencia."

Santos has opened peace talks with the FARC, a leftist guerrilla group founded in 1964 that grew out of the lawlessness and ideological divisions of the period along with right-wing paramilitary groups and drug trafficking organizations.

But Santos' peace overtures have encountered stiff resistance from Uribe, a conservative hardliner who sought to destroy the FARC militarily during his 2002-2010 presidency, in which Santos served as defense minister.

More:
http://www.brecorder.com/world/south-america/114457.html