There have been “possible contacts” between the government and the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla group, said former senator Piedad Cordoba on Friday.
The controversial former politician who is banned from holding an official position due to alleged ties with the FARC, has insisted on numerous occasions that the ELN were in contact with the government with a goal of participating in the peace talks between the Colombian government and the FARC which were officially launched in Norway on Thursday.
Cordoba, who has led dialogues with the armed groups and been a mediator with the FARC for the release of hostages, said at a press conference that she expects possible approaches towards peace between the government and the ELN, prompted by her contact with those guerrillas.
It was rumored last week that the Colombian government and the ELN were in talks about the possibility of the country’s second largest rebel group joining the peace talks and a former guerrilla said that an ELN representative was already in Norway to observe the talks.
The former senator said that through a recent “exchange of letters” to bring the ELN to the table of negotiations, “we believe that now there are possible approaches of the government.”
Cordoba has called for the ELN to be involved in the talks on numerous occasions, but the government has not yet made any comment on whether the guerrillas would be welcome at the table of negotiations.
The FARC and the government in August officially announced to be holding peace talks. The ELN subsequently expressed its interest to join these peace talks, but under conditions not agreed upon between the government and the FARC.
Cordoba also asked for the government to use the state television and radio to broadcast the peace negotiations live from Havana, Cuba when they are moved there.