ELN would be ready to dialogue, even with Álvaro Uribe

Outgoing High Commissioner for Peace Miguel Ceballos announced that for 17 months the national government, through delegates from the Holy See and the UN, explored the possibility of opening a peace negotiation with the National Liberation Army. Monsignor Montemayor explained the progress of this rapprochement.

The two participants in this exploration were Carlos Ruiz Massieu, head of the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia, and Monsignor Luis Mariano Montemayor on behalf of the Apostolic Nuncio and the Holy See.

These steps were authorized by President Iván Duque and supported by the High Commissioner for Peace. So far, it is known that Álvaro Uribe has also explored the possibility in two meetings which apparently led to Miguel Ceballos’ resignation.

Despite this situation and the dialogues taking the form of concessions on the terms of the parties, it was learned that the ELN guerrillas intended to advance a new conversation table, like the one that was interrupted after the bombing at the General Santander Cadet School.

This was explained by Bishop Luis Mariano Montemayor in an interview with the newspaper El Espectador. He, who attended the meetings, said his task was to determine if the ELN was willing and the answer was yes. But neither the guerrillas nor the government expect to give in to the initial conditions to sit down.

For Montemayor, the conditions are not fixed and evolve according to the context, just as progress has been made. Monsignor explained that the condition of release from the government All of the kidnapped show inconsistencies, as the information they have is historical and some are no longer captive or alive, while those from 2018 are almost all free. For example, the former mayor of Alto Baudo, Tulio Mosquera, has a revolutionary trial by the guerrillas who hold him captive and do not want to release him.

“What we addressed very clearly was whether the ELN was prepared to end hostilities with the Colombian state, and the answer was yes.“Mgr Montemayor told the newspaper.

He and Massieu, he said, were said to have received information about the release of the hostages and the efforts to free them which allows the priest to sign that there are peace gestures, such as the ceasefire declared in April.

The Monsignor acknowledges that the former president Álvaro Uribe was one of the most critical in the negotiations with the armed groups, but he assured in the interview with El Espectador that “The best deals are made with the worst enemies.”

This is why he said that throughout the exploration of the wills for peace, the former president played an important role. First, Uribe met Juan Carlos Cuéllar, as Ceballos was upset, and second, his concerns led to the convening of various international organizations for dialogue.

According to Montemayor, he had to go look for him in Rionegro, where the former president resides, to ask him, at the request of the Holy See, if he was against dialogue with this guerrilla. Monsignor was surprised that neither Uribe nor the ELN delegation viewed their participation in the process in a negative light.

Former president Álvaro Uribe did not agree with the lifting of the appointment of peace officer of Juan Carlos Cuéllar, as happened in 2019 due to the attack on the general school of Santander . He intervened for his release and celebrated his release for this new exploration. According to Mgr Montemayor, it is under the government of the former president that the most progress has been made in a possibility of peace with this guerrilla and both recognize it.