LEFTIST COLOMBIAN REBEL CHECKS A VECHICLE AT A ROADBLOCK, 1999-01-05 (photo)

A Colombian leftist rebel checks the cargo of a vehicle January 5 at a roadblock on the outskirts of the southeast town of San Vicente del Caguan, the largest town of a huge zone that has been cleared of government troops to make way for peace talks due to start January 7. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have effective control of the region and are setting up tight security in advance of the official ceremony to loaunch the talks, which is due to be attended by Colombian President Andres Pastrana and possibly by the FARC's veteran leader Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda. Colombia's long-running civil conflict has claimed more than 35,000 lives and forced more than one million peasants to flee their homes in the last 10 years alone. JMG/KP/ELD