HAVANA.- The Government of Colombia and the National Liberation Army (ELN) presented the idea of creating a fund financed by donors to “support” the peace process amid the renewal of the bilateral ceasefire, which expires this Monday.
According to a statement issued by the ELN delegation, progress has been made in the “different partial agreements on the participation of society in the peace process.” The proposal includes a call for donors “to establish a fund that supports the implementation of these agreements.”
After a year and a half of negotiations and the evaluation of the first six months of the bilateral, national and temporary ceasefire (CFBNT), measures are being taken to address crises and add new commitments for both sides. The objective is to agree on an extension of six additional months for this CFBNT,” the statement indicated.
This decision follows the recent one-week extension of the ceasefire, agreed last week in Havana, Cuba, maintaining the same conditions established half a year ago.
The issue of guerrilla financing has acquired media relevance, especially after the kidnapping of the father of Liverpool footballer Luis Díaz by the ELN. The father was released after twelve days of captivity.
The rotating peace negotiations with the ELN, which according to official figures has more than 5,000 active members, began in Caracas in November 2022 at the request of the Colombian president, the leftist Gustavo Petro, who launched a Total Peace plan with rebel groups. and drug trafficking organizations.
His predecessor, Iván Duque (2018-2022), had suspended talks with the ELN after a deadly attack against a police school, in which 22 students were murdered.
Colombia is a country hit by six decades of armed conflict that leaves 9.5 million victims: displaced, murdered, kidnapped and missing.
Source: With information from Europa Press and AFP
