NPR's David Welna reports that the Guatemalan government and leftist rebels are in the final weeks of negotiations to end a 36-year civil war which has claimed more than a hundred thousand lives. The two sides say they will sign a peace agreement December 29th. There are various reasons why diplomacy is finally succeeding in ending Guatemala's vicious conflict: the country's president hopes peace will bring badly-needed foreign investment; and with the Cold War over, the rebels have come under pressure from their European and Mexican backers to reach a political settlement.
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