Bogota touts 'e-mail peace talks'

The government had until now refused to negotiate with rebels

A Colombian official has suggested that negotiations for a prisoner swap with the country's largest rebel group, the Farc, be conducted by e-mail.

"If we use the internet... we can advance rapidly with the humanitarian exchange," said peace commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo.

Rebels rejected the terms of a recent prisoner exchange offer but Bogota insists a deal is still possible.

The United States has also said it will not co-operate with any such accord.

The lack of backing from Washington leaves the Colombian government in a very difficult negotiating position, says the BBC's Colombia correspondent.

'Modern technology'

But Mr Restrepo appeared upbeat about the prospects for talks, telling reporters the internet would be a good medium.

"We are in the 21st century," Mr Restrepo told reporters.

"We must use modern technology."

After two years without talking with the Farc the government is now suggesting e-mail? This does not seem to be a serious proposal Rafael Pardo Senator and former defence minister

He would not say why e-mail negotiations were preferable to the face-to-face talks sought by the Farc - or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

Mr Restrepo's enthusiasm for e-mail negotiations appeared to bemuse some politicians.

"The Farc is going to want to talk, not send a letter," Rafael Pardo, a senator and former defence minister, told Reuters news agency.

"After two years without talking with the Farc the government is now suggesting e-mail? This does not seem to be a serious proposal."

The Farc apparently turned down a recent government offer to release some 50 lower-ranking rebels for up to 70 hostages - including three Americans, politicians, and police and army officers.

But the Colombian government has indicated that, within certain limits, it is willing to negotiate on the terms of the exchange - a position which has angered Colombia's main backer, the US.

American ire

The US ambassador to Colombia, William Wood, said Farc rebels had rejected the initial terms of the proposed exchange because freed rebels would have been prevented from returning to "terrorism", as he put it.

It's believed that the agreement would have obliged freed rebels to renounce violence or leave the country.

"We've always been afraid that the Farc would seek a solution that would strengthen its terrorist activities," Mr Woods told reporters.

"I believe their answer confirms our suspicions."

He also condemned the Farc leadership as drug traffickers and said the US would continue to pursue extradition warrants against them regardless of any negotiations.

Our correspondent Jeremy McDermott says this seriously limits the Colombian government's negotiating options, including the government's efforts to reach a wider peace agreement.

It is left with very little to offer in exchange for the paramilitaries laying down their weapons.

But since the US bankrolls Colombia to the tune of some $700m a year, any comment by the American embassy cannot be ignored, our correspondent says.