The Colombian government and the Central General Staff (EMC), the main dissidence of the extinct FARC guerrilla group, agreed to set up a dialogue table at a date and place yet to be defined.
Even without a concrete agenda, the agreement will also mean the beginning of a new ceasefire, as announced by the two parties after a meeting held in the department of Cauca.
“The delegation of the National Government on behalf of the Colombian State and the Central General Staff of the FARC-EP, in the development of the preliminary phase, we will install the Dialogue Table with all its legal and political architecture, and the presence of the international community as guarantors and companions,” they announced in a joint statement.
The agreement was reached in a rural area of the municipality of Suárez (Cauca), where the two delegations have been meeting since Thursday (31) to chart the path for this dialogue table.
The two parties will meet again on the 17th to “evaluate, monitor and adjust the commitments assumed to build trust and announce the date for the installation of the peace dialogue table”.
Previous ceasefire was interrupted by violent action by FARC dissidents
This is the second such announcement made by the two parties. In April, after a meeting with the peasants of the Yarí plain, in the department of Caquetá, the dissidents had set a date to start the dialogues, which never took place.
Peace efforts were shaken by violent action by the FARC dissident group, which included the murder of four indigenous children.
This murder caused the Colombian government to break the bilateral ceasefire established since January in four departments. Since then, EMC has reinforced its violent actions, especially against public forces in the southwest of the country.
Now the two delegations are trying to find ways to agree on a bilateral ceasefire and also establish “protocols of respect for the population” that have control mechanisms and that can be signed when the table is installed.
“The bilateral ceasefire will aim to reduce confrontation and violence, application of International Humanitarian Law (IHL)” as well as actions that allow society to participate in dialogues, minimize risks for the civilian population and for members of both parts.
Despite the attempt at peace, the parties affirm that they “reserve their legitimate right to defense and will maintain their own security measures and necessary actions as part of respect for IHL”, the statement said.
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