By Maria Josefina Arce.
Colombians have greeted 2023 with encouraging news. President Gustavo Petro’s government agreed with five armed groups on a six-month bilateral ceasefire that began Jan. 1.
The agreement, which affects the ELN, the National Liberation Army, the Segunda Marquetalia and the paramilitary group of the Colombian Self-Defense Forces Gaitanista, among others, is subject to national and international scrutiny.
According to the authorities, this is being looked after by the UN verification mission, the Organization of American States, the Ombudsman and the Catholic Church.
The main objective of the ceasefire is to suspend the humanitarian impact on the population in general and on ethnic and peasant communities in particular, and to avoid armed incidents between the public armed forces and armed groups.
The UN Verification Mission to Colombia welcomed Petro’s announcement in the closing hours of 2022 and expressed support for the government’s efforts to bring peace to the South American nation.
Petro, who took over the presidency last August, has made achieving total peace a priority of his mandate, for which he has taken concrete steps towards that path. In fact, he resumed talks with the ELN after being paralyzed by his predecessor at the Casa de Nariño, Iván Duque.
The first round took place in Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and a new meeting between the two parties is scheduled for this month in Mexico.
The National Liberation Army had already declared a ceasefire for the Christmas holidays since December 24, a gesture of goodwill that was very well received by the authorities and the population.
This new announcement is a hope for the country, which has reported alarming levels of social and political violence plaguing the population over the past year. According to INDEPAZ, Institute for Development and Peace Studies, 189 social leaders and 42 former guerrillas were assassinated, while more than 70,000 people were forcibly evicted from their homes.
Camilo González Posso, President of INDEPAZ, described the agreement as exceptional and having a major impact on some 350 Colombian communities where these groups operate, particularly those at the scene of illicit economies such as drugs and smuggling.
The path that the new Colombian government has taken is difficult, the challenges are manifold. But the truth is that in just four months in office, Petro has reaped tangible results and made progress towards his goal of making peace a reality in the South American nation.