Dissidents from the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) are working to reach a ceasefire at the dialogue table

Suarez (Colombia), September 3 (EFE).- The Colombian government and the Central General Staff, the main breakaway of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), will continue to work after the first exploratory meeting to develop a bilateral ceasefire agreement that will be in effect when the peace talks begin. Official.

The two delegations met for three days in a rural area of ​​Suarez in Cauca Province (southwest), where they agreed yesterday to hold a dialogue table at a date and place that has not yet been determined and which they hope to announce. After a new meeting on September 17.

For this new invitation, the two delegations must arrive with some “tasks” solved, among which is the central one: “to establish a ceasefire agreement with full guarantees for the civilian population,” explained today the head of the government delegation, Camilo González Poso. .

“This matter will be discussed during all these days in the technical committees, and we will work intensively. On September 17, an assessment will be made of what has been achieved and the installation date will be set to issue an announcement to the country of the beginning of this pause and talks,” said González Poso.

The ceasefire, for the Emergency Coalition, is “the smartest and wisest path,” in the words of the head of the dissident delegation, Andrei Avendaño: “If there is no ceasefire, we sit in a space for dialogue, but while that happens, and while the two delegations Here, soldiers, police and rebels face each other and die,” the fighter told several media outlets in Suarez today.

The young man said, “If the peace process aims to preserve the dignity of the lives of Colombians, but also try to reduce the loss of human lives as much as possible, then it does not make sense for us to engage in dialogue within the context of confrontation.” .

The government and the Interim Emergency Committee already had a bilateral ceasefire in effect that began in January and was partially violated in May — before the specified six-month period expired — in four provinces, after dissidents killed four indigenous minors they had supposedly previously recruited.

Since then, the government has launched an offensive to try to stop the expansion of major dissidents from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which includes about 3,000 people and is led by Ivan Mordesco, while intensifying their attacks against the general force throughout the southwest. From the country.

The path to CESS

The Military Emergency Committee recognized that halting offensive actions was “the most complex issue” in this first exploratory meeting, because, according to Avendaño, the Ministry of Defense is conservative because it believes the dissidents will use it to “strengthen themselves.” “

“Nothing could be more false,” said the rebel leader, who issued a warning: “We will be here with this government, with another government, with a ceasefire, without a ceasefire; the FARC will remain there.” But a ceasefire benefits communities, according to EMC, so it is the right way to go.

In addition to the suspension protocol and observation format, by September 17, delegations must also prepare an agenda for the talks table.

“On September 17, the two delegations will meet again to see if the tasks already organized have been accomplished, and if they have been accomplished, we will determine the day for the installation of the table. On the same day the date will be announced. Where the table will be installed,” said Avendaño.

This could be done in 5, 10 or 15 days, according to the EMC, although the government is giving no time out of an abundance of caution and because the dissidents had already set an official start date for the dialogue on another occasion – May 17 – this was never met. In fact, the path is starting to get complicated.

“There is a long process coming, which has been going on for almost a year, as there was a ceasefire experience that witnessed setbacks that began in May,” Gonzalez Poso said. There is a date for the second one which is “Good News for Peace”. Evie

egr-ime/cpy

(Photo) (Video)