NewsLatin AmericaThe Government of Gustavo Petro meets with FARC dissidents to explore peace talks

The Government of Gustavo Petro meets with FARC dissidents to explore peace talks

The High Commissioner for Peace, Danilo Rueda (in white), during the meeting with four members of the Central General Staff of the FARC-EP, a dissident group of the former guerrilla.COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT

On Saturday afternoon, in the Colombian department of Caqueta, the government of Gustavo Petro has taken another step in its ambitious project of total peace for Colombia. The High Commissioner for Peace, Danilo Rueda, has met with four members of the Central General Staff of the dissident group of the former FARC guerrilla, part of whom never laid down their arms or took them up again after the signed peace agreement in 2016 between the Government of Juan Manuel Santos and the commanders of that guerrilla. Two international observers were also present at the meeting, Dag Nagoda from the Government of Norway, and Raul Rosende from the United Nations. The purpose of the meeting, says a statement, is “exploration and rapprochement to assess the possibility of initiating dialogue within the framework of Total Peace.”

The statement explains that the Government and those FARC dissidents (there are other groups, since they are not unified) expressed their willingness for these dialogues “to be set by a bilateral ceasefire.” The High Commissioner, adds the statement, explained at the meeting the legal criteria in Petro’s total peace policy and “the assumptions of the dialogue.” The four members of the dissidents, for their part, proposed four points: that total peace means “the eradication of the causes that generate social and armed conflict”; that for a second rapprochement there be a bilateral ceasefire agreed by the parties; that the dissidences can first consult with their structures about this possible dialogue; and that there are neutral third parties during the talks process.

The statement says that it was agreed to sign a confidential protocol to guarantee a new meeting. “We believe that as never before, in the history of our country, the conditions are being created to leave decades of fratricidal violence behind forever,” the statement said.

Petro’s ambitious peace agenda, less than two months into the presidency, appears to be the new government’s top priority. This week it became known that the ELN guerrillas — with which several governments have sat down but none have managed to sign an agreement — hope that peace talks will start in the coming weeks. Petro proposed to the Venezuelan government that it be a guarantor in the process (which would be key since a good part of the ELN is in Venezuelan territory), and the latter replied that it not only wants to be a guarantor but also that it would like to be the host country for the negotiation. .

On the other hand, the non-governmental organization Indepaz reported this week that there are 22 armed groups in Colombia that want to join the new total peace policy proposed by the Petro government. In addition, he said that the Government has already had approaches to the other more visible dissidences, known as the Second Marquetalia, and also with the criminal group known as the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC) or Clan del Golfo.

These moves by the Petro Government to seek peace, however, have been criticized by experts in this type of dialogue. Senator Humberto de la Calle (independent), who was chief negotiator for the 2016 peace agreement, this week expressed his rejection to renegotiate with the Second Marquetalia and its commander Ivan Marquez. “I do not agree with reopening negotiations with Ivan Marquez, they had their chance, I think the path they have left is submission,” said de la Calle on his social networks. “Who guarantees us that this time he will not fail to comply again and break his word as he did after the signing of the agreement?”

The other former chief negotiator, Sergio Jaramillo, spoke with Noticias Caracol about his objections to the total peace policy, among which there is talk of bilateral dismissals with organizations that he considers should be legally treated as criminal organizations. “It does not exclude the possibility of submissions, including large mass submissions, but that has to be done by the justice system and not by the Peace Commissioner’s office,” Jaramillo explained.

There are still many details to be known about the total peace policy and how it would be carried out with each of the armed organizations. The Government has already filed an initiative in Congress to extend the law that has allowed all governments to negotiate with illegal armed groups which, if approved, would also allow it to appoint regional peace commissioners, replace compulsory military service with social service, and empowering mayors and governors to make humanitarian deals.

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Source: EL PAIS

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