Colombia’s government and the rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN) have postponed the closing of their sixth round of peace talks, the main issue of which was to extend the validity of the mutual cease-fire agreement, a Cuban official said on Monday.
Colombia’s government and the rebel group the National Liberation Army (ELN) have postponed the closing of their sixth round of peace talks, the main issue of which was to extend the validity of the mutual cease-fire agreement, a Cuban official said on Monday.
The closing ceremony of the current round of negotiations is “postponed for tomorrow,” but the day remains “to be confirmed,” a Cuban foreign ministry official told reporters invited to witness its official conclusion. Talks began on January 22 in Havana.
Earlier, the ELN, the oldest rebel organization that continues the armed struggle in Colombia, said in a statement it released that “measures are being taken” to deal with “crisis factors” to make it possible to extend the ceasefire agreement.
The mutual ceasefire agreement, which expired on January 29, was already extended for seven days last week to give negotiators time.
Since the start of this sixth round of talks, the parties assure that their intention is to extend the mutual ceasefire.
Social Democrat Gustavo Petro, the first president in Colombia’s history who belongs to the left, continues to try to end the armed conflict that has raged in the country for six decades by conducting negotiations with the main armed organizations, especially the ELN, but also with dissidents of the ex-FARC rejecting the 2016 peace deal, far-right paramilitaries and gangs.
But his policy of achieving “absolute peace” is facing obstacles and is criticized by the right-wing opposition, which says it is exacerbating the lack of security, while some armed groups are stepping up their action to expand their territorial control.
Previous rounds of negotiations have been held in Venezuela, Mexico and Cuba, guarantor countries of the process, along with the governments of Brazil, Chile and Norway.
To these are added Germany, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, which accompany the talks, as well as a representative of the UN Secretary General.
Present in the western part of the country, on the Pacific coast, and in the northeast, which neighbors Venezuela, the ELN (Guevarists) has been fighting against the state since it was formed in 1964, inspired by liberation theology and the revolution in Cuba. The authorities estimate that it has around 5,800 fighters.
Source :Skai
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