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News > Latin America

Colombia: ELN Announces 5-day Ceasefire During Presidential Elections

  • Colombia's ELN negotiator Pablo Beltran and government negotiator Gustavo Bell shake hands during peace talks in Havana, Cuba.

    Colombia's ELN negotiator Pablo Beltran and government negotiator Gustavo Bell shake hands during peace talks in Havana, Cuba. | Photo: Reuters

Published 14 May 2018
Opinion

The group said it hoped "that this spirit of conciliation of the ELN, is answered with a similar behavior" by the government.

The Colombian guerrilla National Liberation Army, or ELN, said it would cease its military activities for five days during the weekend of May 27, in which presidential elections are held in Colombia, to facilitate the participation of citizens.

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"The ELN will cease military activities from zero hours on May 25 to twenty-four (hours) on the 29th to contribute to favorable conditions that allow Colombian society to express themselves in the elections," he announced.

The information was disclosed in an editorial titled "Some cease fire and others do not" in the latest edition of its Insurrection magazine, published this Monday, and replicated in the group’s Twitter account.

In the letter said the group "hopes that this spirit of conciliation of the ELN, is answered with a similar behavior" by the government.

Colombia will elect the successor of President Juan Manuel Santos on May 27, although if no candidate obtains more than 50 percent of the vote, there will be a second round in June.

The fifth cycle of peace talks between the insurgent group and the Colombian government was resumed on May 10 of this year, 20 days before the presidential elections.

Colombian senator Iván Cepeda said it was imperative that the next president guarantees the continuity of the dialogues that are currently taking place, because it is the only way to achieve peace.

The talks delegation of ELN said they were ready for the peace process in Havana, Cuba, as they wait for the  delegation of the Santos government.

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