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News > Latin America

Colombia Govt-ELN Peace Talks to Start in January

  • President Juan Manuel Santos will begin a new phase of peace talks with the ELN.

    President Juan Manuel Santos will begin a new phase of peace talks with the ELN. | Photo: Reuters

Published 30 November 2016
Opinion

The public phase of the talks between the government and the ELN was scheduled to begin October 2016 but was canceled just hours before it began.

The government of Juan Manuel Santos announced Wednesday that after canceling talks with the country's second-largest guerrilla, the ELN, they will now go ahead in January 2017.

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Colombian Military Kills ELN Fighter Days Before Peace Talks

The public phase of the talks between the government and the ELN was scheduled to begin October 2016 but was canceled just hours before it began. The talks will now begin on Jan. 10, 2017 in Quito, Ecuador, according to a statement from the government.

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa has said his country will host the talks and play the same role Cuba did for the government's ultimately successful talks with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, the FARC.

The Colombian government continues to demand proof that the ELN will release prisoner Odin Sanchez as a prerequisite to begin the talks. The guerrilla group says the process has already begun.

According to the government, peace talks had been delayed because they had allowed the ELN to hold private assemblies inside their movement.

The ELN has confirmed its willingness to begin peace talks with the government but stressed that they want to see a different process to the one with the FARC. The rebels and the government agreed to launch a peace process in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 30.

Founded in 1964 and inspired by the Cuban revolution, the ELN is smaller and less well known than the FARC.

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