Government wants a “technical extension” of ceasefire with ELN due to lack of extension

Bogotá, Aug 2 (EFE).- The Colombian government delegation in the peace negotiations with the National Liberation Army (ELN) said on Friday that it wants to opt for a “technical extension” of the bilateral ceasefire with the guerrillas, which ends tomorrow, since no agreement has yet been reached for its extension.

“We are aware that time is running out to prepare the necessary conditions for the new extension and, for this reason, we agree with you on the option of making a technical extension of the ceasefire that will allow us to develop the meeting of the heads of delegations,” explained the chief negotiator, Vera Grabe, and Senator Iván Cepeda, in a letter addressed to the UN and the Catholic Church, companions of the process.

The bilateral ceasefire with the ELN, the longest agreed and carried out with the guerrillas, ends tomorrow but the parties have not met to agree on its extension, so uncertainty reigns over what will happen after this Saturday.

The government says it is making “all necessary efforts” to continue negotiations with the guerrilla group and renew the ceasefire, but the negotiations are going through their worst crisis since they were resumed in November 2022 and have been “frozen” since the beginning of the year.

Last week, the ELN asked the government for guarantees and denounced non-compliance with the agreed points, especially the ceasefire, while the government asked the guerrillas to “clarify” whether they have a “purpose of reaching peace” and real will.

In response to this, the Government expressed its solidarity on Wednesday “with the communities and peoples who, from different parts of the country, are demanding a future without violence and with transformations, for which the resumption of dialogue, the continuation of the ceasefire, the participation of society, the implementation of the signed agreements and the commitment of the parties not to leave the table are essential.”

“We share the clamor of Colombian society that demands that we rise to the occasion of this historic time. We reaffirm our commitment to seek the protection of the civilian population and to insist on the path of peace,” the statement concludes.

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