The National Liberation Army (ELN) has confirmed that the bilateral ceasefire will be the next point of the negotiation scheduled for January 23 in Mexico, after the measure announced by Colombian President Gustavo Petro days ago did not meet with the guerrilla’s consensus.
The ELN has stressed that as it expressed at the end of the first round of talks, they understand that decree issued by Petro «as a proposal to be examined in the next cycle» and that, until then, they cannot make a decision until they speak with the national leadership on the matter.
At the same time, the guerrilla has also taken the opportunity to publish the balance of the monitoring that the Conflict Analysis Resource Center (CERAC) has made of the Christmas truce agreed with the Government, in which it is highlighted that no violent actions were registered that can be attributed to them.
Likewise, it highlights that between December 24 and January 2, the ELN released two people who had been kidnapped last month in Arauca and Norte de Santander and that there were no operations by the public forces against the guerrilla.
Despite the latest setback, Casa Nariño representatives at the dialogue table are confident that the talks will go well. Senator María José Pizarro has emphasized that the goal of reaching peace is «incalculable» and that it will be achieved «regardless of the obstacles».
«I am confident that the next round of negotiations will allow us to address and concretize the cessation of hostilities. That’s what total peace is all about,» he said on Twitter, stressing that already establishing a negotiating table «is an important advance.»
For Senator Iván Cepeda, the ELN’s latest message confirming that the bilateral ceasefire will be the first point to be negotiated in the next round of talks is «significant» that «no possibility is closed».
This week the ELN denied that it had reached a bilateral ceasefire with the Colombian government as President Petro announced on December 31. The guerrillas clarified that such a possibility should be analyzed by their structures and that it would be discussed at the next meeting scheduled in Mexico.
After the announcement, the Government responded by leaving without effect the decree defining such measure and therefore the State security forces continue to have full offensive powers.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
