Bogotá, Oct 16 (EFE).- The Government of Colombia extended for six months the bilateral and temporary ceasefire with three blocks of the divided Central General Staff (EMC), the largest dissident of the former FARC guerrilla, a measure that began to govern this Wednesday.
The ceasefire applies to the self-proclaimed General Staff of the Magdalena Medio blocks Jorge Suárez Briceño and Gentil Duarte and the Raúl Reyes front, which continue in peace talks with the national government as a negotiated solution to the conflict and which are commanded by alias “Calarcá”
The measure began at zero hours today, October 16, and will be in force until zero hours on April 15, 2025, states the decree signed by the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, which is dated October 15.
«The parties undertake to comply with the protocol of rules and commitments signed by them. The agreements and protocols signed and those signed at the peace dialogue table, referring to the ceasefire, are mandatory,” the decree states.
There it is also explained that the suspension of military operations does not go against the constitutional principle of guaranteeing legal order and the exercise of rights.
The decree also says that the ceasefire is under constant surveillance and a quarterly evaluation will be made.
In addition, it is made known that “new objectives of the ceasefire can be agreed upon, aimed at strengthening the peace process, protecting the civilian population, deepening territorial transformations and replacing illicit economies.”
This extension of the ceasefire is the result of the VI cycle of peace talks between the parties that was established on October 11 in Bogotá and will end next Saturday.
The ceasefire has been one of the requests of the communities affected by the Colombian armed conflict.
Last April the EMC split, leaving out of the negotiations the dissidents led by alias ‘Iván Mordisco’, who operate mainly in the southwest of the country and have led to an escalation of violence since then.
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