Castro to play `important role' in Colombia peace
         negotiations

             BOGOTA, Colombia -- (AP) -- Cuban President Fidel Castro will not be a
             mediator in the peace negotiations between the Colombian government and
             guerrilla leaders but will play an important role in them, President Andres Pastrana
             said Tuesday.

             ``What friendly nations will be allowed to participate in the peace process must be
             agreed to with the guerrilla [leaders] . . . but in any case Cuba is going to play a
             very important role,'' Pastrana told the private Colombian radio network RCN
             from Durban, South Africa, where he will attend the summit of nonaligned nations.
             The two-day conference begins today.

             Pastrana said he will meet with Castro and with other heads of state for the
             purpose of winning international support for the peace process in Colombia.

             In preparation for the formal negotiations, preliminary talks have ``advanced a
             great deal,'' said Pastrana, who will complete his first month in office on Monday.
             The government has held separate talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
             Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (ELN), the main guerrilla
             groups, the president said.

             ``Colombians want us to achieve peace quickly. That's not easy, because we must
             first set the groundwork for the negotiating table,'' Pastrana said.

             The government negotiators must be designated by Nov. 7, according to the
             agreement reached July 9 by Pastrana and FARC chief Manuel Marulanda.
             FARC is the largest and oldest rebel group in Colombia.