2024-09-20 03:20:24
The decision to end the talks comes after a series of violent incidents, the most recent being a bomb attack that left 27 people injured and two dead.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced the eventual end of the peace process with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group, amid growing tensions and recent attacks that have put the continuity of negotiations at risk. The president made this statement during the inauguration ceremony of Claudia Regina Expósito Vélez as a judge of the Superior Council of the Judiciary at the Casa de Nariño.
Petro’s decision to end talks with the ELN comes after a series of violent incidents that have shaken the country, the most recent being a bomb attack that left 27 young people injured and two people dead. According to the president, these violent acts, which have been attributed to the insurgent group, are incompatible with any peace process and represent a serious threat to national security.
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“Today we are witnessing a dramatic event, repeated in recent years. A dump truck loaded with explosives that injured 27 young people and killed two,” said President Petro, referring to a recent attack that adds to the long list of violent actions perpetrated by the ELN.
‘They close the doors’
The president was emphatic in stating that this type of act closes the door to any progress in the peace negotiations. “This was put forward by the ELN, with whom we were talking about peace, and obviously, as happened that time in another place nearby, at the Police School, where many police officers who were studying there died, it is practically an option that closes a peace process with blood,” said Petro, referring to the 2019 attack at the General Santander School.
During his presidential campaign, Gustavo Petro promised that he would work to achieve the dissolution of the ELN within three months. However, the guerrilla group has maintained its resistance, using violence as a method of pressure. Among its demands, the ELN has requested funding to end the kidnapping of citizens, as well as the suspension of military operations in certain areas of the country.
The president lamented that in Colombia, war seems to be a constant, despite efforts to achieve peace. “In Colombia, it seems that this is the only solution: to continue at war and killing each other over and over again, as if that were our history,” said Petro.
The future of peace negotiations with the ELN remains uncertain, but what is clear is that the National Government is not willing to tolerate further terrorist acts. The eventual termination of the peace process would represent a setback for the country’s peace efforts, but, according to the president, it is a decision that cannot be evaded when the violent acts continue.
This announcement puts in jeopardy expectations of a negotiated solution to the conflict with the ELN, the last active guerrilla group in Colombia, and raises serious questions about the path the country will follow in its search for peace.
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