Colombia peace accord offers little in way of substance.

BOGOTA -- As a former journalist, Colombia's President Andres Pastrana is well versed in the art of putting a new spin on an old story.

Last week he held a two-day summit with Communist guerrilla warlord Manuel "Sureshot" Marulanda to revive the country's moribund two-year-old peace process and left claiming that the "peace process was renewed."

But there is little that is new in the 13-point deal the government and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas signed nor any indication the renewed talks will lead to significant progress.

Peace talks restarted Feb. 14. The FARC suspended them in November calling for the government to crack down on right-wing paramilitary groups, the rebels' arch rivals.

There was also agreement to create a committee to look at ways to avoid further suspensions of the talks and to set up another committee to look at ways to combat paramilitary groups and "reduce the scale of the war." Both sides also agreed to begin talks about a possible cease fire.

But the government has repeatedly said it is doing all it can to fight the paramilitaries and occasionally produces a public gesture as evidence, such as this week's 40-month jail sentence for former army Gen. Jaime Uscategui, who was convicted of covering up evidence of a right-wing massacre. But on the whole the right-wing groups continue their massacres, killing more than 200 civilians in the first six weeks of this year alone.

The creation of yet more committees is unlikely to speed anything up. Since October 1999, the peace process already has had a group of negotiators supported by a host of committees that are supposed to review items on the 12-point peace agenda.

The question of a cease fire has been on the table for more than seven months. After swapping proposals in sealed envelopes, both sides realized that their positions were too far to permit any truce in the near future or merit any deeper negotiation.

An agreement to organize a visit of foreign diplomats and politicians to the demilitarized area where talks have been going on is a far cry from the international oversight that some Colombian politicians have been demanding.

The accord reached last week was vital for Pastrana. His popularity rating had slumped to 21% in the latest poll, the lowest since he took office in August 1998. And almost three-quarters of respondents said they had lost faith in the peace process.

Marulanda also was willing to throw the president a political lifeline. In return, the demilitarized zone was extended until Oct. 9 -- guaranteeing the rebels a safe haven and strategic area where they can continue supplying, training and recruiting.

One notable dissenter was Carlos Castano, head of the nationwide paramilitary alliance who described Pastrana's meeting with Marulanda "as an act of valor by a president who is on his knees."

The bottom line on the peace process remains largely the same. Pastrana, let alone the elites opposed to his peace efforts, do not want to commit to sweeping income redistribution, a radical agrarian reform and an end to free market economic policies as demanded by the FARC.

The rebels have not spent 36 years in the mountains and jungles waiting for crumbs. There is no sign the FARC is ready to abandon plan to seize power by force.

"Marulanda isn't stupid. He's in no rush. After all he's been in the mountains for most of his life," said Guillermo Jaramillo governor of central Tolima province. "pastrana, however, realizes time is short. His 15 minutes is going to end."