The head of the Colombian government delegation in the peace talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN), Otty Patiño, acknowledged that the bilateral ceasefire with that guerrilla, announced by President Gustavo Petro, was a proposal on the negotiating table but never “concluded”.
(Read: ‘University of peace’, Petro’s path to reach ‘total peace’).
The ELN surprised this Tuesday with the publication of a statement in which it denies the announcement made by Petro shortly before midnight on December 31, according to which this guerrilla and four other illegal armed groups had agreed with the Government on a bilateral ceasefire, lasting 6 monthsvalid from January 1 to June 30.
According to the Eln, its delegation in the peace negotiations that are taking place in Caracas “has not discussed with the government of Gustavo Petro any proposal for a bilateral ceasefire“.
After this message, Patiño clarified: “It was a proposal because I was at the negotiating table. It has already been discussed and a conclusion has never been reached“, indicated in the ‘W Radio’.
(In addition: Eln denies having agreed a bilateral ceasefire with the Government).
“This topic, although it was raised in the first cycle, a first conclusion was never reached,” he insisted in another interview on ‘Blu Radio’. The The government negotiator also indicated that this ceasefire proposal will be “the first issue” that will be addressed in the next round of negotiations, which is scheduled to begin this month of January in Mexico” and considered that the response of the guerrillas is “very encouraging”.
The Eln indicated in its message that once they finish adjusting the agenda in the second round of talks they will be “in a position to discuss the proposal for a bilateral ceasefire, to examine the terms that make an agreement possible“.
THE N
The ELN’s communiqué also made Petro will convene an urg meetingence the Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada; the High Commissioner for Peace, Danilo Rueda, and the Defense Minister, Iván Velásquez, to address the situation.
(In addition: The Ministry of Equality arrives: these will be its functions).
“The declarations of the Eln and those of Otty Patiño indicate that this ceasefire has not yet been formalized, which is a point that is under discussion.“, said, for his part, Camilo González, president of the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz).
González considered that “details will have to be defined with regard to the other groups” that Petro assured had accepted the ceasefire: the Segunda Marquetalia, the Central General Staff of the FARC dissidents, the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) and the Sierra Nevada paramilitaries. And despite the contradictory information these days, it is “good news” because it indicates that “this discussion is precipitating and hopefully it will lead us to a period of détente and de-escalation this year,” González concluded.
Five groups involved
The Eln is the first of the five illegal armed groups included by Petro in the bilateral ceasefire to speak out about that announcement by the president, made late on December 31, 2022, which generated enthusiasm and hope in Colombia but was received with caution.
(In addition: The step by step of the Government to evaluate a truce with armed groups).
The six-month ceasefire will be “extendable depending on progress in the negotiations,” Petro said on that occasion. According to the information provided by the Presidency, the bilateral cessation will have national and international verification by the UN Verification Mission, the Mission to Support the Peace Process of the Organization of American States (MAPP/OEA), the Ombudsman’s Office and the Catholic Church.
EFE
