Photomontage: Juan Ruiz. Image courtesy of ¡PACIFISTA! All rights reserved.This article is being published as a product of the partnership between ¡Pacifista! and DemocraciaAbierta. Read the original text here.
According to several statements by spokesmen on both sides, it seemed that the Pope's visit to Colombia, because of its symbolism, would clearly be an appropriate time to announce the completion of the third cycle of dialogues in Quito (Ecuador) between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Colombian government and a mutual ceasefire agreement - although the possibility of reaching such an agreement was not yet apparent. However, on the morning of September 4, two days before the Pope arrived in Bogotá, the country woke up with this piece of news: from October 1st till January 12, 2018 (102 days in total), both the guerrilla and the armed forces will cease their military operations.
The agreement was reached after slow progress in the ongoing negotiations. The government was demanding an undertaking on the part of the ELN to stop the hostilities and the blowing up of pipelines, to put an end to kidnappings, the recruitment of minors and extortions. For its part, the ELN demanded, as a prerequisite for accepting a bilateral ceasefire, guarantees on the part of the State for social and popular movements, its recognition of the systematic killing of social leaders, improving conditions for prisoners and its commitment to fight the paramilitaries.
