The NGO Colombians for Peace has sent letters to President Juan Manuel Santos and the commanders of the rebel groups FARC and ELN proposing a 90-day ceasefire in which to start peace talks, Colombian media reported Tuesday.
In letters sent to FARC commander Timoleon Jimenez, alias “Timochenko,” leader of the ELN Nicolas Rodriguez Bautista, and the Colombian head of state, ex-senator and leader of Colombians for Peace Piedad Cordoba proposed a truce of at least three months in order to commence “dialogue and humanitarian accords.”
The three parties are requested to take urgent measures to make sure international human rights law is applied in every situation and that every violation be investigated.
The peace organization also expressed its “total willingness to contribute to the development of the humanitarian operation which would facilitate and guarantee” the liberation of six hostages promised by the FARC.
The FARC and ELN have been fighting the Colombian state since 1964. The Colombian conflict, fueled by additional paramilitary violence since the 1980s, has killed tens of thousands of Colombians and has displaced millions.