Colombian President Gustavo Petro has ruled out the presence of the Armed Forces in the official team for the main table of the eventual dialogue with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas, days after he ratified with his signature the ‘total peace’ law approved in Congress.
This decision differs from that of the Minister of Defense, Iván Velázquez, who was in favor of the military participating in these peace talks with the ELN on some specific issues. However, Petro has taken the other path, according to government sources consulted by Caracol Radio.
For the time being, the Government is still outlining the name of the candidates who will occupy the dialogue table and reviewing some technical and protocol aspects in order to officially resume this process, so that the deadline set for November as starting date could be extended in time.
The ‘total peace’ announced by Petro is one of his campaign promises, during which he was questioning the methods of previous governments to put an end to an internal conflict that has been dragging on for more than half a century.
These new dialogues are aimed at armed groups of a political nature, so that the dissidents of the now extinct FARC, or the paramilitary squads, which the government has stressed will have to submit to the ordinary justice system, will not be able to take part in them.
Talks between the ELN and the Colombian government broke down in January 2019, after the guerrillas attacked a police school, leaving a score of people injured and a hundred wounded in response to then President Iván Duque’s refusal to move forward, something he has also been reproached for regarding the implementation of the peace agreements with the FARC.
