Rebel group ELN and right-wing neo-paramilitary groups should be involved in the peace process Colombia plans to have with the FARC, the president of the country’s State Council said Tuesday.
In an interview with Caracol Radio, Gustavo Gomez said that in an eventual peace process every criminal armed organization should be part of the peace negotiations.
“I understand that with the desire for peace comes the expectation that other groups like the ELN will join the negotiations and other criminal groups and paramilitaries should be welcome to participate,” said the State Council president.
Gomez also asked Congress to issue a rule regulating the guarantees contained in the Legal Framework for Peace, the constitutional reform which provides “differential treatment” in the case of demobilization of armed groups. According to Caracol, the magistrate said it was necessary that the legislation delivered the elements for the application of justice and that it benefited those who demobilize within the eventual peace process for the safety of all the parties involved.
He also advised the government to remember previous process like the La Uribe negotiations in the 80s when the ceasefire pact with the FARC did not include the decommissioning of arms, resulting in the guerrilla group becoming politically active while engaging in armed campaign activity.
Finally the Council of State president said that an agreement for peace was not easy to achieve but he hoped for results and called on Colombians to be patient and tolerant.
President Juan Manuel Santos and FARC leader “Timochenko” announced earlier Tuesday that the government and rebels have completed the first, “exploratory” phase of the peace process and will begin formal negotiations to end the armed conflict in the Norwegian capital of Oslo in the first half of October.