The leader of Colombia’s second largest rebel group, the ELN, said Sunday that any peace dialogue between his organization and the government must take into account the “historical reasons of the conflict.”
“The case of Colombia is this, all generations since the [Spanish] conquest [have] lived through war and desired peace has not arrived. When prior governments have set out their willingness for peace, the ELN has been available. Since last year we have said to President [Juan Manuel] Santos that if public opinion is for peace, they can count on the ELN,” said the ELN leader,
Gabino said it was difficult to know how a possible peace negotiation with the government would differ from the ongoing FARC-government peace talks in Havana, Cuba.
“It is difficult to say, because to date the reaches and methodologies of the process in Havana are not clear…between the FARC and the government there is an ongoing process and we are not even in exploratory dialogues, for this reason we cannot speak of a single table, we are willing to accept the reality of two separate negotiation tables,” said Gabino
The rebel leader stated that Colombia’s “” should have a significant say in any given peace process.
“Colombia suffers from a complex social and armed conflict, the most serious analysts acknowledge its economic, political and social origins have been shaped by the terrible inequality and the repression to silence the struggles of the great majorities that lie at its center. This is also the interpretation of the ELN and this reality has resuled in the taking up of arms. Peace begins with acknowledging this reality and beginning a process which progresses towards the great solutions; if the Santos government understands the [causes] in this way, the road is clear and an inclusive process could be initiated, where these majorities would be protagonists.”
Gabino criticized the government for allegedly allowing transnational mining companies have more influence in the country’s future than the Colombian people.
“Who has overseen Colombia’s transformation from agriculture to mining? The idea that the [government] are the defenders of the Colombian homeland is relative, their soul is Occidental, British [Petroleum], Nestle, Drummond…Chiquita…the [thought] that [state-owned oil company] Ecopetrol is a part of Colombian heritage is . If Santos’ mining-energy plans are realized, Colombia would go down a terrible tunnel, with very grave consequences not only for the population but for the planet,
In late February, some 90,000 workers in Colombia’s iconic coffe sector called a two week strike, arguing that the government had abandoned the industry in favor of other sectors.
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Furthermore, the commander said the Colombian government needed to end the practice of criminalizing popular protests and social movements in order to reach lasting peace.