Bogotá, January 3 The Colombian government announced on Tuesday the decrees setting the parameters for a six-month bilateral ceasefire involving five armed groups, including the ELN, which however announced that they had signed up to it from President Gustavo Petro measure does not follow.
The five decrees of December 31, 2022, which came into force on that day, detail how the state security forces must act in places where the National Liberation Army (ELN) is present, FARC dissidents, the Segunda Marquetalia, the Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) and the Sierra Nevada Paramilitaries.
Along these lines, it expressly orders the suspension of “offensive military and police operations” against the members of these armed groups in order to “facilitate the establishment of a dialogue table and achieve judicial submission and dismantling”.
The documents, one for each group, state that the ceasefire will in principle last until June 30, but it can be extended by the government after the monitoring and verification mechanism is reviewed.
The UN Verification Mission, the Organization of American States Peace Process Support Mission (MAPP/OEA), the Ombudsman and the Catholic Church are part of this mechanism.
THE DETAILS
The five decrees have similarities but also differences. On the one hand, the ELN and the FARC General Staff aim to “participate in the peace process and participate in the procedures for implementing the agreement”.
In the case of the Segunda Marquetalia, the AGC and the Sierra Nevada paramilitaries, the decrees speak of submission in court. This is because they have no political status.
ELN CASE
Hours before the decrees were published, the head of the Colombian government delegation to the peace talks with the ELN, Otty Patiño, acknowledged that the bilateral ceasefire announced by President Petro with these guerrillas was a proposal on the negotiating table, but “a deal” was never reached “.
This guerrilla surprised this Tuesday by releasing a communiqué confirming Petro’s announcement just before midnight on 31 months, until March 30.
Patiño said the ceasefire proposal would be “the first issue” to be dealt with in the next round of negotiations, due to start in Mexico this month, and said the guerrilla response was “very encouraging”.
The position of the ELN prompted Petro to convene an extraordinary meeting on Tuesday with the participation of High Commissioner for Peace Danilo Rueda and Interior Minister Alfonso Prada and Defense Minister Iván Velásquez to assess the situation.
The government is expected to explain the status of the peace process with the ELN this Wednesday, for which it will hold a press conference at the Casa de Nariño, the seat of the executive. EFE
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