The head of the Colombian government delegation at the peace dialogue table, Vera Grabé, in an archive photo. EFE/Isaac Esquivel
Havana, January 22 (EFE). – The sixth cycle of peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) began this Monday in Havana with the main objective of renewing the bilateral ceasefire, valid until the end of this month.
The ceasefire, the longest signed so far between the parties, began on August 3rd and ends in principle on January 29th, just seven days from now, in the middle of this new dialogue cycle, originally scheduled to end on February 6th.
Contacts between the parties began in the morning with a series of preparatory meetings in which several preliminary questions had to be clarified. The formal establishment of the table in plenary format could even be delayed until this Tuesday, negotiating sources told EFE.
It is currently not planned that the installation of the dialogue table will be a public event open to the media.
The Colombian government is seeking to extend the ceasefire and expand the prohibited actions. For its part, the ELN said it also seeks guarantees that this measure contributes to improving the living conditions of civilians in the regions most affected by the conflict.
At the heart of this debate will be kidnappings, a method of financing the ELN, especially after the kidnapping suffered by Manuel Díaz, father of the footballer Luis Díaz, which has raised doubts in Colombian society about the ceasefire and negotiations.
But the debate continues, because the Colombian government is already pointing to laying down its arms, as the president himself, Gustavo Petro, indicated in an interview with EFE, linking the renewal of the ceasefire to the will of the ELN, ” to finally renounce violence.”
For their part, guerrilla sources stressed to EFE that the end of the conflict was linked to the “democratization of the country” and various “transformations” agreed in the original joint agency, something that, in their opinion, should be achieved through participation of civil society.
The Havana Cycle, the second of these negotiations taking place in the Cuban capital, must also move forward on other open fronts, such as society's participation in the agreement and preparation and work in critical areas.
On the one hand, participation groups have been formed that will have to submit a participation protocol in the coming months – in principle there was talk of February, but the kidnapping of Díaz changed everything about the negotiations – and from there they will be drawn up. Citizens' suggestions should be included in the final agreement.
And as for the critical areas, in September in Caracas they decided to designate as critical areas Bajo Calima and San Juan in the Colombian Pacific, a part with ELN influence that is heavily affected by the conflict, and they have “humanitarian caravans brought there.
It was also agreed to designate Bajo Cauca, northeast Antioquia and southern Bolívar as critical areas. There has been no major progress in this movement in Mexico and it is now expected to resume in Havana.