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The guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) denied on Tuesday having reached a bilateral ceasefire agreement with the Colombian government. However, the authorities had confirmed 48 hours earlier a six-month truce that would take effect on January 1.
Contrary to what was announced, the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) denied on Tuesday, January 3, any ceasefire with the Colombian government.
“The ELN delegation has not discussed with the government of Gustavo Petro any proposal for a bilateral ceasefire, so there is still no agreement on this issue,” the rebel organization said in a statement published on social networks and signed by its “central command”.
On Sunday, the Executive of the leftist Petro announced that it had reached a six-month “bilateral” ceasefire with the five main armed groups operating in Colombia, including the ELN, with which it is holding new peace negotiations.
“We have repeatedly stated that the ELN only complies with what is discussed and agreed upon at the dialogue table in which we participate. A unilateral government decree cannot be accepted as (constituting) an agreement,” the last group stated in its statement. guerrilla fighter still active in the country.
“During the last round of negotiations in Venezuela, which ended on December 12, only what had been announced was agreed upon (…)”, while “adjustments were made to the agenda and both the president ( Petro) as the central command” of the ELN, explains the latter.
The next round of negotiations will take place shortly, on a still unknown date, in Mexico, where “it has been agreed to complete the adjustment of the agenda,” according to the ELN.
“Once the plans have been completed, we are willing to discuss the bilateral ceasefire proposal and to examine the conditions that make an agreement possible,” added the far-left guerrilla group, which “interprets” the government’s announcement “as (a) proposal to examine in the next round”.
with AFP
