Bogotá, May 16 (PL-RHC) -- Colombian Vice President Angelino Garzon said that “the country has lived in an atmosphere of pain for decades due to armed conflict and the path to reconciliation is difficult, but it can be achieved.”

At the opening of the National Conference of Reconciliation in Bogotá, attended by more than 200 delegates from communities, social and academic organizations, Garzon said: “Colombia is full of sorrow for the killings, abductions, disappearances and social injustices and needs to have peace.”

During the opening of the meeting, the director of Semana magazine, Alejandro Santos, stressed that this nation is living a crucial moment. He said: "We are a country trying to find its way to recover its memory and dignity through justice.”

The Colombia Reconciliation project was proposed by the civil society that seeks a path to peace through dialogue.

More than 500 initiatives have emerged in previous meetings held between February and April in cities like Medellín, Cali, Barranquilla and Bucaramanga, which has brought together representatives from the private sector, communities, the academic world and local and regional authorities.

According to official figures, the Colombian armed conflict has left more than 25,000 missing people, some 220,000 dead and about five million displaced.