The Central Command of Colombia’s National Liberation Army (ELN) has warned that the peace talks are «in crisis» following statements by the country’s president, Gustavo Petro, of a ceasefire which the guerrillas later denied.
«After the unilateral declarations of President Petro about the ceasefire, presented as an agreement of the table, this entered a crisis that is about to be resolved,» said the ELN Central Command in a statement reported by ‘El Tiempo’.
In this document, the guerrilla has warned that «it cannot accept as bilateral a unilateral decision of the Colombian government» which, in addition, dissociates itself from the «formality» of the dialogue table, because «it violates the procedures of not disseminating to the public opinion what is not of consensus».
This message from the ELN comes in response to Petro’s declarations last December 31, when he announced a bilateral cease-fire which, however, the guerrilla itself denied hours later. The Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada, then came out to justify Petro’s announcement on the grounds that the ELN had repeatedly stated «the importance of advancing towards a bilateral ceasefire».
Finally, the guerrillas have expressed their willingness to continue advancing in the framework of the peace dialogue, but before that it is necessary to «deal with the latest events» and adopt the necessary measures to guarantee that this «crisis» is overcome and that «unilateral actions outside the Dialogue Table» are not repeated.
On the other hand, this Monday it has transpired that the Government delegation has asked the ELN for an eight-day meeting in Caracas, Venezuela, after January 20 with the consideration of «emergency meetings» to address the issue of the bilateral cease-fire, reports Caracol Radio citing its own sources.
In addition, agenda items already agreed upon in the first cycle would be addressed in order to concretize some of the thematic axes agreed between the parties.
Despite this meeting in Caracas, the venue for the second round of talks is still Mexico, a country that will send an official in the coming days to finalize logistical issues and set a date for the start of this new phase of negotiations.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
