The Colombian government has decided to «suspend» the bilateral ceasefire with the National Liberation Army (ELN), after the guerrillas warned on Tuesday that there was no consensus to put both sides’ armed activities on hold.
The Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, called an emergency meeting early Wednesday to examine what happened and, at the end of this meeting, the Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada, confirmed to the media that the decree published just a few hours before on the ceasefire «does not produce any legal effect».
Prada pointed out that the ELN raised «on several occasions» the importance of decreeing a bilateral ceasefire and that after announcing theirs on December 19, they asked the Government to «act accordingly» and to study the possibility of responding in the same way.
Under these maxims, the Government joined the bilateral ceasefire at the time. However, he regretted that «in view of the position publicly assumed» by the ELN, the Colombian authorities have decided to leave without «legal effects» the decree with which this truce was sealed.
Prada also informed that while the possibility of a bilateral cease-fire will be one of the issues to be addressed in the next round of talks, he invited the ELN, which has expressed its «will» for peace on several occasions, to declare a «verifiable truce» as a gesture of good will.
«For the time being we invite them to declare the truce as an act of recognition of the request that motivated this declaration, that of the communities and social organizations that have desperately clamored for a bilateral ceasefire. The Government has responded and we hope that all the organizations respond to this», he said.
Prada denied rumors that the drafting of these decrees was not consulted or elaborated collectively and stressed that the Armed Forces were always aware of the Government’s plans.
«We recognize that these processes are of a very high degree of complexity, we must be very cautious, but under no circumstances are we exempt from the counterpart’s reaction,» he responded when asked if the Government made a mistake in not bringing this measure to the negotiating table.
The cancellation of this decree, Prada stressed, means that the security forces of the Colombian State «retain full powers in the offensive against the ELN» until Petro does not lift the suspension.
Accompanied by the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, and the High Commissioner for Peace, Danilo Rueda, Prada explained that the Armed Forces «retain full powers» in the offensive against the guerrillas, which opens the door to new measures until there is some kind of pact.
The Government wants to «give the necessary time» to agree at the dialogue table with the ELN on the protocols that should govern this possible truce. Once these measures are «totally agreed», the cease-fire decree will come into force, the minister explained.
CONVERSATIONS WITH THE REMAINING ORGANIZATIONS On the other hand, Prada stressed that the four armed groups with which the Government reached a bilateral ceasefire agreement remain «committed» to it and confirmed that, as planned, meetings will be held «in the «next few days» with the high commands of these organizations.
These are the cases of the two FARC dissidents –Estado Mayor Central and Segunda Marquetalia– and of the paramilitary groups of the Clan del golfo and the Autodefensas de la Sierra Nevada, which has led Prada to emphasize that with regard to these two «the spaces of «social and legal dialogue foreseen in the law» will be initiated».
Prada emphasized that this decision for a bilateral ceasefire has the approval of the United Nations, the Catholic Church, the Ombudsman’s Office and a large part of the international community.
Finally, he stressed that the suspension of military and police operations with regard to these groups will be without prejudice to the fulfillment of the authorities’ obligations to preserve the integrity of the territory, the constitutional order and ensure the necessary conditions for the exercise of rights and freedoms.
FIRST POINT OF THE SECOND TABLE OF DIALOGUE Following the press conference given by Minister Prada, the head of the Colombian Government delegation in the negotiations with the guerrilla, Otty Patiño, has affirmed that the cease-fire will be the first point of the second table of dialogue which he hopes will start on January 23 in Mexico.
«The ELN agreed to negotiate this issue of the cease-fire», said Patiño, who explained that the only change is that it will be the first issue to be addressed at the second meeting, but, he stressed, «it does not alter the talks».
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
