After the official announcement of the signing of the bilateral ceasefire between the national government and the National Liberation Army (ELN), the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Gutérres, congratulated the parties for reaching this central achievement for peace in Colombia.
The secretary highlighted that the participation of the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and the first commander of the ELN, Antonio García, in the signing ceremony in Havana (Cuba), shows the political will shown by both to achieve one by one the points of the agreement.
“These are important steps that give hope to the Colombian people, especially the communities most affected by the conflict. The participation of the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and the first commander of the ELN, Antonio García, in the signing ceremony confirms the parties’ desire for peace,” he said in a statement.
Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary General, said that he trusts that the parties would work together and in good faith, with the determination to fulfill their agreed ceasefire obligations and welcomes the intention to extend the cessation of hostilities once the agreed months of truce are fulfilled.
Additionally, the UN recognized the request of the Colombian Government for the United Nations Verification Mission in the country to also verify and monitor this ceasefire and indicated that its Special Representative, Carlos Ruiz Massieu, will continue to accompany the dialogue process.
The United Nations thanked the Government and the ELN for hosting the latest round of negotiations in Cuba, noting that this act is an “unequivocal reflection of their commitment to peace in Colombia.”
According to the agreement announced today, the UN and the Catholic Church will be in charge of supervising that what is agreed in the agreements is carried out.
Bilateral ceasefire will begin on August 3
From Havana, the Cuban capital, it was learned on the morning of Friday, June 9, that the national government and the guerrillas of the National Liberation Army (ELN) decreed a bilateral ceasefire that will begin on August 3 and will be in force. initially, for six months depending on the verification agreements and the peace disposition of that criminal structure.
“We seek to contribute to change Colombia. If there are political changes, the rebellion is not needed. The world has a warmongering spirit, these agreements are a beacon of hope, a small and modest grain of sand. Not very successful experiments have been carried out in peace, we hope that this does not happen again. Count on the ELN to resolve causes, not consequences. We all need to change, not just the ELN,” said Pablo Beltrán, chief negotiator.
The agreement signed by the two parties is “national”, “bilateral” and “temporary” and will initially have 180 days under the provisions that the representatives of the two delegations signed from the Central American city, where the Peace Agreement was ratified. between the former FARC and the government of Juan Manuel Santos in 2016.
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During the event, the top leader of that guerrilla, Eliécer Herlinto Chamorro Acosta, better known by his alias ‘Antonio García’, asked Colombians to stop believing in the division that is supposedly sold by the media and detractors of the peace that is consolidated with that structure.
“That they do not eat the stories of those who try to make them believe that we are divided,” he said.
For his part, alias Pablo Beltrán, highlighted the commitment of the parties that is reflected in various meetings held during the last governments:
“This table, which has been working since 2012, with President Santos, had a bad time with the previous president (Iván Duque) and now this effort is resumed with President Petro, who can go from working on a deed of agreements to bring the agreements to Colombia. We call them pole to ground, that is, put this on the ground, ”he said. with Infobae