Colombia rebels reject peace talks with Uribe

Colombia's Marxist FARC rebels have rejected peace talks with the government of President Alvaro Uribe, according to a letter shown on Venezuelan state television on Tuesday, AFP reported. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by their Spanish acronym FARC, instead demanded to meet with leftist Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, according to the letter broadcast on Telesur. 'Uribe is not programmed by the gringos (Americans) for peace or an exchange (of hostages for prisoners),' said the letter dated June 26. 'Only a new, truly democratic government, arising from a broad national agreement, could return to the path of seeking a political solution to the social and armed conflict that Colombia is experiencing,' it said. Addressing Ortega, the letter signed by the FARC's leadership council said: 'We would like to speak personally with you or your delegate on these topics of war and peace.'