From a local media source:

COLOMBIA:
Carlos Gaviria, president of the leftist Alternative Democratic Pole (PDA) party, which had convened its own demonstration in the Plaza de Bolívar one hour earlier than the start of the main march, told IPS that "we are marching with independence and with the slogans that we believe in."

"I find the demonstration to be moving and exciting, and we are not surprised by the criticism," said Gaviria, alluding to the threats received by the PDA because of the party’s aim to protest not only the FARC but also the right-wing paramilitaries.

"We are calling for a humanitarian accord, life, peace and the release of the hostages, while saying ‘no’ to war," added Gaviria, who took the second-largest number of votes in the 2006 elections in which President Álvaro Uribe was reelected to a second term.

At noon, the PDA launched yellow, blue and red fireworks -- the colours of the Colombian flag.

The Plaza de Bolívar, where the city government building, presidential palace, main cathedral and palace of justice are located, was packed with demonstrators hours before the march started at noon.

The festive day offered the world an unusual image of a Colombia united around a common goal: peace.

Women’s group representative Rosa Emilia Salamanca told IPS that their slogan was "No war in my name. We women are saying a round ‘no’ to war and issuing a call for a humanitarian agreement."

The crowd repeatedly sang the national anthem, while waving white and Colombian flags.

The demonstration lasted longer than scheduled. People began to gather early in the morning and hundreds of thousands of people were still chanting and protesting by mid-afternoon.

"No more war or kidnappings! We are opposed to that and have come together to shout it to the FARC, so that our clamour is heard in the middle of the jungle and our solidarity is felt by those who have been kidnapped by the guerrillas. No more FARC!" local shopkeeper José Carlos Quintero, sporting a white t-shirt that read "I Am Colombia", told IPS.

A religious ceremony held in the Basílica del Voto, a church in central Bogotá, was attended by the families of some of the hostages.

"They are the ones who deserve the greatest solidarity," PDA Congressman Wilson Borja told IPS. "We have come to back them up and give them our support for a humanitarian swap."

"Kidnapped friend, brother or son: your families here have never forgotten you," Marleny Orjuela, a spokewoman for ASFAMIPAZ, an association of hostages’ families, said over a loudspeaker.

Relatives of the hostages also gathered in other churches, although the Basílica was their main meeting point. A 50-metre banner calling for peace and a prisoner-hostage swap was strung up outside the entrance to the church

Many of the families were afraid that the conditions of their loved ones could worsen as a result of the anti-FARC demonstrations, and thus refused to take part.

The family of former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, the highest-profile hostage, who has been held captive in the jungle for six years, issued a statement explaining why they were not participating. The decision, Betancourt’s husband Juan Carlos Lacompte told IPS, was based on their belief that "the only solution to the conflict and for the release of the hostages is a humanitarian accord."

Other families argued that it would have been much more effective to march for "the release of the hostages" rather than against the FARC.

"A chorus of hundreds of thousands of voices shouting that the FARC are terrorists might be useful as a war strategy, but could be counterproductive in terms of the effort to achieve a humanitarian accord," by limiting the possibility of talks between the FARC and the government, according to an analysis published by the Semana magazine.

The march also gave further arguments to right-wing President Álvaro Uribe for his continued refusal to create a demilitarised zone for holding negotiations, a key FARC demand, the article stated.

But opposition Senator Cecilia López Montaño said an international demonstration like Monday’s was effective for several reasons: "because it reflects the awakening of a country united against violence, and is the beginning of a peace process demanded by all Colombians, especially young people, who organised the march."

"I Am Colombia" and "No More Kidnappings, No More Deaths, No More FARC" read white t-shirts worn by dozens of demonstrators called together over the Internet by 33-year-old engineer Oscar Morales, who formed an on-line group in Facebook calling itself "a million voices against FARC" to convene Monday’s march.

More than 300,000 people had confirmed on-line that they would take part in the march, and tens of thousands were already pouring into the Plaza de Bolivar hours before it started.

According to unofficial sources, between 1.5 and two million people took to the streets in Bogotá.