Colombia to start peace talks with ELN rebels – government

BOGOTA, Colombia – The Colombian government said it will announce Wednesday, March 30, the start of peace negotiations with the country’s second-biggest guerrilla group, the left-wing ELN, broadening the push to end a half-century of conflict.

The Colombian presidency’s High Commission for Peace said in a statement that the government and the left-wing National Liberation Army (ELN) would make a joint announcement in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on Wednesday.

That would open a new front in peace negotiations as the government also closes in on a deal with the country’s biggest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Official sources told AFP the announcement would be attended by the government’s top delegate for the existing FARC peace talks and two ELN commanders.

The government of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has been discussing for more than two years the possibility of launching formal negotiations with the ELN.

For the past 3 years the government has been holding talks in Havana with the FARC. The two sides say they have made substantial progress over recent months.

They had aimed to sign a peace agreement on March 23 but that deadline passed with no deal as outstanding disagreements had not yet been resolved.

Inspired by the Cuban revolution, the ELN was founded in 1964, the same year the FARC launched its uprising. Officials estimate the ELN currently has some 1,500 members and the FARC about 7,000.

Drawing in various armed groups and gangs, the conflict has killed more than 260,000 people and uprooted 6.6 million people. – Rappler.com