The guerrilla of the National Liberation Army (ELN) announced this Sunday the abandonment of the practice of kidnapping for extortion purposes. This is a decision on one of the most delicate issues in the peace talks, due to which the armed group maintained serious tensions with the Government, as it is a practice highly repudiated by civil society. The announcement comes at the end of the fifth cycle of dialogues, which took place in Mexico City.
#ATTENTION
THE FIFTH CYCLE OF DIALOGUES STRENGTHENS THE PEACE PROCESSThe delegations of the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the National Liberation Army – ELN, have made progress in strengthening the Peace Process initiated in the city of Caracas in November 2022. pic.twitter.com/E5a2W8ISk3
— ELN Delegation (@DelegacionEln) December 17, 2023
The new chief negotiator of the Government for the dialogues with the ELN, Vera Grabe, indicated that the guerrilla's decision – “transcendent for peace in Colombia” – will come into force from January 30, 2024, it will be linked to the extension of the ceasefire that began in August and will be accompanied by the delivery of information on the people who continue to be kidnapped by the armed group. At the press conference where the announcements were made, Grabe said: “Crises, when they are taken advantage of, strengthen us, they become a possibility.” Pablo Beltrán, head of the ELN delegation, highlighted the joint work of both teams: “We are partners, we are responsible for building that mandate.”
The ELN's position on kidnappings changes shortly after two months of the most tense episode it has had with the current Government, in full negotiations: the kidnapping of Luis Manuel Mane Díaz, father of soccer player Luis Díaz. The armed group, which finally released Díaz after being detained for 12 days, justified the plagiarism in various ways. Even after the liberation, in which the Episcopal Conference participated, the top commander of the guerrilla, Antonio García, said that with it the group he leads had kept his word. He also said that there was no agreement “on economic, political or judicial withholdings.”
A month ago, on November 17, the Government stood firmly before the guerrillas, demanding that they put an end to the kidnappings and release all the people who remained captive if they wanted the peace negotiations to continue. The demand was made “in the face of the rejection and indignation of national and international public opinion,” which is why he asked the guerrilla delegation for an urgent meeting, due to the “unacceptable justifications” that the armed group had put forward to continue kidnapping. .
The ELN announcement is made known less than a week after the Central General Staff (EMC), the largest dissident of the extinct FARC guerrilla, communicated a similar decision regarding the kidnappings. The notification of that armed group, made known in a document signed by the Government's chief negotiator, Camilo González Posso, and by alias Leopoldo Duranwho heads the delegation of dissidents, represented the greatest advance in a process that has also gone through its own difficulties and moments of tension.
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