During the last days, former president Ernesto Samper has been quite active through his social networksexpressing his opinion regarding various issues of the national situation, Government policies and other opinions on what is happening in Colombia.
Former President Samper recently spoke on the humanitarian section within the peace process that the government is developing with the ELN guerrilla. For the former president, this issue was relegated to a last instance, when it should be the first according to his evaluation. He put it this way:
“I regret that the humanitarian issue, which should be the first in the ELN Agreements with the Government, as agreed in Quito, now it has been relegated to a last place in the agreed agenda in Mexico. Humanize when the war is over for what?” he trilled in his account.
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Let us remember that the agenda to which the president refers is the one carried out in the second cycle of talks in the Mexican country of this process. Himself, he concluded with the recognition by the Government of President Gustavo Petro of the political status of the ELN as a “rebel armed organization” and the record of “advances” with a view to reaching an agreement for a bilateral ceasefire.
“Recognize that the national government, within the scope of its constitutional and legal powers, given the political recognition of the National Liberation Army (ELN), as a rebel armed organization, is advancing negotiations and dialogues of a political nature aimed at obtaining solutions to the armed conflict”, indicated the resolution of the Government of Petro released at the end of the table in Mexico.
Leaving the above in a first level the importance of political recognition and from there raise the rest of the points developed in this great conversation that continues its course. In view of this, the chief negotiators of both parties showed cautious optimism about the results achieved, but still without finalizing the long-awaited bilateral ceasefire agreement.
“We were able to start address the most urgent, heartfelt and sensitive issues such as the ceasefire and we also open wide the doors of citizen and community participation,” said Otty Patiño, head of the Colombian government’s negotiating delegation.
“Today we have made progress in building an itinerary with a common vision of peace,” Patiño stressed.
For his part, alias “Pablo Beltrán”, the ELN’s chief negotiator, remarked that “the first steps were taken to establish a bilateral, national and temporary ceasefire.”
The process continues and is already receiving comments from political leaders such as Samper, who expresses concern about the way in which the items have been relegated to the humanitarian sphere.