Polo senator Iván Cepeda, who is part of the negotiating table that the government of Gustavo Petro and the ELN are trying to retake in Cuba, told EL COLOMBIANO that this guerrilla group will have political representation as soon as it lays down its arms. Although he did not clarify if this includes seats in Congress –in 2026 the two periods given to the FARC for the peace process will end–, he did reveal that this was agreed in the agenda agreed with the administration of Juan Manuel Santos, what is expected is once more a starting point.
Will something of the process with the FARC be replicated in this negotiation with the ELN?
“No, this is a different process that has a different background and a different agenda, which was discussed in the second government of Juan Manuel Santos and, therefore, it is from that perspective that the dialogue is going to take place. That does not mean that references or lessons learned cannot be taken; It will surely be done.”
Are there minimums that you do not want to be exceeded?
“No, we are not going to follow the same path that has already been trodden and that shows that it leads nowhere: that the government puts conditions on the ELN or any guerrilla and that is what the years go by, because the discussion is regarding how much of that condition can be met and how much can not. That is a waste of time that only contributes to the conflict being accentuated”.
So what to do?
“What we have to do is reach a round table, in which, among other issues, a bilateral cessation is discussed that allows us to reach that point, which is much more productive than that other exercise.”
Will the arrest warrants once morest the elenos who negotiate in Cuba be lifted?
“All legal obstacles that prevent dialogue from taking place in the best way must be removed. And of course that has to do with considering all the decisions and orders that came under the previous government.”
Humberto de la Calle criticized that there is a ceasefire so soon…
“It will be the table that decides. Opinions from many sectors and people will be heard, but the body that makes the decisions is the conversation table.”
How is this negotiation with the ELN different from the one proposed with the Clan?
“It is not a political negotiation in relation to the Clan del Golfo, but in the case of the ELN, of course, it is a political negotiation, which has a political content and must reach a political agreement.”
Will the ELN have political representation, for example, in Congress?
“The issue of political participation is included in the agreed agenda. In general, from society the issues of democracy, but also from the armed group with which dialogue is taking place. But it is difficult to talk regarding these issues yet, because we haven’t even installed the table. When the point is reached, it will be discussed.
