Colombia’s second largest rebel group the ELN on Wednesday proposed a temporary ceasefire to facilitate the relief of victims of floods and landslides.
In an “open letter to the victims of the rainy season,” signed Monday December 6, the ELN’s Central Command “proposes to the national government to agree the bilateral ceasing of hostilities, in order to prioritize attending the rainy season tragedy, among other urgent matters to discuss and agree upon.”
In the letter, the guerrillas blame the government for the scale of the problems the rains have caused. “What happens with the resources of the national budget Colombians pay for that are destined for these foreseeable tragedies? An important amount is stolen by the corrupt that occupy important bureaucratic posts, others are cut to be used for the war, a war that the north American Pentagon plans.”
“The country is militarized by government order. Its armed forces, under the pretext of the rainy season emergency, have intensified their military operations, further aggravating the crisis of the affected population, which is undergoing its drama in the midst of war,” the ELN said.