Pope brings Colombia president, main critic to talk peace

The three men then joined up together in Francis’ private study to discuss the country’s peace accord with rebels, the Vatican said.

Uribe, the country’s most popular politician, had led the campaign against Santos’ deal with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that resulted in in the accord’s shock rejection in an October referendum.

Santos then introduced several changes to appease his critics and even sat down for a meeting with Uribe for the first time in six years. But he still failed to win his former boss’ support when the revised accord was ratified this month by congress.

There have been attempts in the past to bring the two men together, including one last year by the Obama administration, and there is no indication the Vatican can succeed where others have failed.

But Francis, history’s first Latin American pope, has insisted that dialogue is the only way forward. Under his papacy, the Vatican also helped facilitate talks between the U.S. and Cuba that ended a half-century of conflict.

Uribe said he was attending the meeting out of respect for Francis. He gave no indication that he was ready to make amends with Santos or drop his argument that the accord promotes impunity by sparing rebel commanders time in jail and instead awarding them seats in congress.

Still, the Vatican has considerable leverage in the staunchly Roman Catholic country, especially among Uribe’s conservative base, and the pope has been careful not to appear to be taking sides in the peace process.

The pope has held off travelling to Colombia until the peace process is complete, although Santos has said he expects Francis to visit in early 2017.

Nicole Winfield, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Pope brings Colombia president, main critic to talk peace

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