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"Colombia would advance in the achievement of total peace and would send a clear message about Cuba's valuable contribution to put an end to the internal armed conflict," Congressmen said.
Members of Congress from different political coalitions sent a letter to Colombia's President Ivan Duque requesting the resumption of talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas while also highlighting the Cuban government's meaningful role in the peace process.
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More than 20 congressmen signed the letter that condemned the inclusion once again of Cuba in the U.S. blacklist of state sponsors of terrorism. Lawmakers represent the opposition and official parties, among them the Liberal Party (LP), Green Alliance (AV), U Party, Democratic Pole (DP), and the Alternative Revolutionary Common (FARC).
The congressmen noted that Cuba, as a guarantor of the peace talks, "has been consistent and reliable," an attitude that was "essential" to achieve the M-19 and Farc-EP guerrillas' accords in 2016.
"In the last four decades, Cuba has contributed significantly to the peace processes, it has carried out humanitarian actions of all kinds, it has fulfilled tasks to secure the implementation of the agreements," the letter reads.
Colombia’s Indigenous Guard arriving to the main public squarein Bogotá. They’re here staging a Minga - indigenous protest - against continued violence in their rural regions. They’ll shortly be joined by other sectors of society as part of today’s National Strike #ParoNacional pic.twitter.com/J1bskshPqk
— Steven Grattan (@sjgrattan) October 21, 2020
In 2019, Duque suspended the negotiations with the ELN that were promoted by ex-President Juan Manuel Santos' (2010-2018) administration.
After four years of negotiations in Havana, FARC-EP leaders and Santos signed a Final Accord in 2016, which included six main points to reach peace in the country.
Under the pretext of Cuba's refusal to extradite members of the ELN, U.S State Department put the Caribbean island back on the unilateral list from which was removed in 2015.
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