The Colombian government appealed to the Central General Staff, which brings together the largest number of FARC dissident fronts, to decree “a cessation of offensive activities during this Christmas season and the end of the year.”
In doing so, it would pave the way “to advance to the next phase of dialogue,” according to a statement from the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace, which warns that “no more Colombian should die or be injured by violence, regardless of this politically motivated or not.
#ATTENTION?| Communiqué of @PeaceCommissioner: faced with acts of violence, the entire #cauca calls for a ceasefire. pic.twitter.com/LXhQndQPJ7
– High Commissioner for Peace (@ComisionadoPaz) December 22, 2022
“We make an urgent call to the EMC-FARC to listen to the cry for peace of the people of Cauca and to pay the ground for dialogue with a cessation of offensive activities during this Christmas season and at the end of the year,” the text states.
The Office of the High Commissioner asks the Central General Staff, supposedly led by alias “Iván Mordisco” to, in some way, join the example of the guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN).
The ELN announced this week a unilateral ceasefire from December 24 to January 2 after the office led by Danilo Rueda called all armed groups to a Christmas truce.
But, this call is addressed exclusively to one of the groups with the greatest presence and affectation, especially in the southwest of the country, in Cauca and Valle del Cauca, where in recent weeks they have been carrying out an almost daily attack against the security forces.
Last August, according to reports from efethe Central General Staff supposedly decreed a unilateral ceasefire among its ranks as a sign of its willingness to talk with the Government in the midst of “total peace.”
However, given the recent events that have already left more than a dozen police officers and soldiers dead, it is not being fulfilled.
For this reason, the entity considers that “a ceasefire would be an important step towards the necessary conditions to advance to the next phase of dialogue”, which is already in a very exploratory stage after Rueda met in September with representatives of the dissidences.
Both these talks, which are not yet formal, and those that are established with the ELN are part of the government’s policy of “total peace.”
The objective is to put an end to long-term conflicts that plague Colombia and that have made 2022 the deadliest year for human rights defenders, among other things, since peace was signed with the extinct FARC.
Within his petition, the High Commissioner asks the families to “continue resisting the ravages of war and insisting on the need for comprehensive peace in the territory.”
With information from Efe and the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace.
