Petro has said that peace talks with the ELN are a cornerstone of his plan to bring “total peace” to the nation of 50 million people, where some rural areas are still under the grip of drug gangs and rebel groups despite a 2016 peace deal with the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC. Tuesday’s meeting was marked by a surprise appearance of Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista, alias Gabino, who led the ELN from the 1990s until 2021, when he left citing health reasons.Īlso in attendance were Colombian senators Iván Cepeda and María José Pizarro, who said the talks seek to find “real solutions for a country overwhelmed by six decades of war.” Pablo Beltrán, the rebels’ chief negotiator, said the ELN is committed to a “transformation” to achieve peace and called the meeting a “historic coincidence” to reach a bilateral cease-fire. “We encourage you to take advantage of the magic, mysticism and hope that Cuba always offers,” said Cuba’s Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez, welcoming Colombia’s government officials and a delegation of the ELN to the capital Havana. It is the third round of talks with the communist-inspired National Liberation Army, known as ELN, in negotiations relaunched in November shortly after President Gustavo Petro was elected as Colombia’s first leftist president. His recusal was a precondition Azimio had given for them to call off the demos and resume talks.HAVANA, Cuba (AP) - Representatives of Colombia’s government and the country’s largest remaining guerrilla group met in Cuba on Tuesday to restart peace talks aimed at reaching a cease-fire and resolving a conflict dating back to the 1960s. It followed a decision by Kenya Kwanza to recuse Aldas MP Aden Keynan from their talks team. The new demands come barely 24 hours after Azimio called off Thursday's mass demonstrations to give dialogue a chance. This includes a reduction of the cost of living, an audit of the 2022 presidential election results, restructuring and reconstitution of the IEBC and an end to the interference of management and operations of political parties with a view of co-opting them in government to weaken them. He said their other demands on the Kenya Kwanza government remain unchanged as they gear for the resumption of the bipartisan talks. Raila said Azimio supporters who were arrested on Tuesday were blamed for the chaos caused by hired goons. "We have also made it clear that our youths who were arrested and arraigned in court on trumped-up charges must be released unconditionally ahead of the talks." Interior CS Kithure Kindiki said on Tuesday that a t least 46 people were arrested as police worked across the country to contain the planned Azimio protests. Raila has further said all the youths who are in police custody in relation to the Azimio protests must be released before the resumption of the talks. The Azimio leader also reiterated his earlier demand that the talks be concluded within 30 days from the date of commencement. Take your job hunt global with a Wise multi-currency account to get paid from over 30 countries. "We have instructed our delegates to raise this," Raila said. Download our free resume template for PDF - build your perfect resume and get hired. He said such a structure will create an avenue for the inclusion of other outstanding constitutional issues to be canvased in the talks. There must be an avenue to be inclusive and allow for the participation of players from outside Parliament in the talks," Raila said. "We still believe the talks cannot be driven entirely and exclusively through a parliamentary process. In a press statement on Thursday, Raila said among the new demands is that the dialogue process must be expanded to include participants outside Parliament for inclusivity. Azimio leader Raila Odinga has issued fresh demands before the resumption of bipartisan talks with the Kenya Kwanza counterparts.
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