BONN, Germany --(EFE)-- A Colombian rebel says the U.S. State Department asked that a representative be allowed to sit in on talks in Germany between guerrillas and delegates from Colombian civil society, but that the request was turned down.

Juan Vasquez, one of three National Liberation Army (ELN) members who will participate in the discussions in Mainz, told EFE, ``We received a proposal to include Americans in the negotiations.''

The ELN is the second-ranking rebel organization in Colombia, after the significantly stronger Revolutionary Armed Forces, leaders of which have already held direct preliminary peace talks with Colombian President-elect Andres Pastrana on Colombian soil.

Vasquez said putting an end to more than three decades of sporadic, low-intensity civil war was Colombia's business alone. Also, he blamed U.S. ``imperialism'' for many of the country's social ills.