GANG WATCH : Peace Process

Hundreds of Latino gang members from warring factions in Orange County gathered over the weekend in Santa Ana’s El Salvador Park for a remarkable occasion. It was the signing of a truce drafted to end some of the violence that has claimed the lives of family, friends and neighbors.

The poignant moment in gang diplomacy followed months of cautious initiative and negotiation. Participants had approached one another warily in their effort to cool longtime passions while they searched for common ground.

Many had agreed to talk after reaching the sensible and unavoidable conclusion that turf battles and street justice were exacting a very heavy price on their own numbers.

Even as the gangs buried the hatchet, Santa Ana police were tempering their optimism about the truce with a measure of caution to be found in statistics. Gang violence in Santa Ana has decreased, but there have been more gang-related homicides this year than last.

And in Los Angeles, of course, Latino gangs are still warring with one another despite an uneasy, but so far effective, truce between black gangs.

But at least Latinos representing three dozen gangs from San Clemente to La Habra have managed to strike a constructive tone. In agreeing specifically to renounce the carrying of weapons, the leaders have sent an important signal. They may still have their differences, but they will try to resolve them in ways that affirm life rather than denying it.