The National Liberation Army (ELN) clarified that it did not join the ceasefire announced by Petro on New Year’s Eve.
the guerrilla National Liberation Army (ELN) announced this Tuesday that does not join the bilateral ceasefire announced by the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro. According to the group, “there is no agreement on this matter” and they do not accept “a unilateral government decree as an agreement.”
“On various occasions we have pointed out that the ELN only complies with what is discussed and agreed upon at the Dialogue Table where we participate. (referring to the negotiations that are taking place in Caracas)”, assured the ELN in a communiqué released by the guerrillas.
In the text, the ELN insisted that its delegation for the peace negotiations “has not discussed with the government of Gustavo Petro any proposal for a bilateral ceasefire“. They added that in the past cycle of dialogues, which ended on December 12 in the Venezuelan capital, “only what was announced regarding the institutionalization of the Roundtable was agreed” and at the beginning of “adjustments to the agenda”.
“Government proposal will be examined”
In this sense, the guerrillas added that during the next cycle, which will take place this month in Mexico, the negotiating agenda will be finalized and once this step is concluded they will be “in a position to discuss the ceasefire proposal.” bilaterally, to examine the terms that make an agreement possible”.
“We understand the government decree as a proposal to be examined in the next cycle,” the guerrilla statement concluded.
The ELN had announced on December 19 a “unilateral ceasefire” that was in force from December 24 to January 2 “to create an atmosphere of peace on these dates” of Christmas and New Year.
First response to bilateral ceasefire
The ELN is the first of the five illegal armed groups included by Petro in the bilateral ceasefire to speak out on the announcement.
The alleged ceasefire agreement, which will last six months – until June 30 – will be “extendable, depending on the progress in the negotiations,” Petro said shortly before midnight on December 31.
The groups that, according to the President, joined the bilateral ceasefire, in addition to the ELN, are the Central General Staff of the FARC dissidents; the Second Marquetalia; las Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) and the Sierra Nevada paramilitaries.
According to the information provided by the Presidency, the bilateral cessation will have national and international verification by the UN Verification Mission, the Mission to Support the Peace Process of the Organization of American States (MAPP/OEA), the Ombudsman’s Office People and the Catholic Church.
For the moment, “a ceasefire with other organizations is not contemplated“added the Colombian Presidency.
Both the UN Verification Mission and the MAPP/OEA and the Catholic Church expressed their support for the ceasefire and their willingness to collaborate.