Colombia’s last remaining Marxist-inspired rebel group the ELN on Monday proposed a bi-lateral ceasefire to the government, ahead of the September visit of Pope Francis.
The rebels who are currently at the negotiation table with the government in Quito, Ecuador claim that if a ceasefire was agreed, it would give more weight to the talks when the Holy See arrives.
“We propose receiving Pope Francis in September with a bilateral ceasefire, to give more strength to the process of talks,” the ELN said in a statement.
“It would be most appropriate to agree immediately to a ceasefire. President Santos, you have the floor,” the group added.
Colombia’s 2017 peace talks with ELN | Fact sheet
The ELN, which was founded in 1964 by radical Catholic priests, said a ceasefire would improve negotiating conditions at peace talks with the government.
The two sides have been engaged in talks since February as they aim to bring a more than half-century long war to an end in a similar vein to that of the peace deal between the government and the FARC rebels.
A cease of fire would indeed be a positive step as both sides acknowledge the necessity to progress quickly with the talks as the current Santos administration have just 18 months in office with the 2018 presidential elections likely to be a heavy distraction.
In Colombia, Pope Francis wants to see zero police and zero guns
Pope Francis recently declared his wish not to see one armed policeman or a gun during his visit to the South American country.
The Pope is expected to visit four cities in Colombia during his trip that is the third of a Roman Catholic church leader to the Andean nation after Paul VI in 1968 and John Paul II in 1986.