Peace Talks Between Colombia, ELN Rebel Group Reach First Point of Agreement, President Gustavo Petro Says

Colombia President Gustavo Petro said their government and the ELN rebel group have achieved a preliminary agreement in peace talks. The president made these comments while touring the western province of Antioquia.

According to Petro, everyone involved has agreed that the indigenous people who have been forced to flee their homes because of the violence should be allowed to return to the province safely.

About sixty years have passed since the conflict in Colombia began, and there has been no agreement on a ceasefire between the government and the National Liberation Army (ELN), a left-leaning rebel group.

The election of Petro, the country's first leftist president and ex-guerrilla, marked the resumption of negotiations between the two parties after more than three years.

Petro was a former member of the M-19 guerrilla band who campaigned to bring about "total peace."

The peace talks in Caracas, Venezuela, are an important development to end the bloody conflict in Colombia.

BBC noted that in 2016, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the Colombian government reached a historic peace agreement, but negotiations with the ELN were unsuccessful.

It is believed that the ELN's about 2,500 members get their money through illegal mining and drug trafficking.

With Venezuela's leadership, the peace initiative has gained support from Cuba and Norway.

"We cannot see each other as enemies, the task we have is reconciliation," Pablo Beltrán, chairman of the ELN delegation, said when negotiations were resumed.

It has been previously stated by Colombia's High Commissioner for Peace, Danilo Rueda, that "human dignity" must be at the center of the peace process to eliminate the dread of being murdered or kidnapped.

ELN Rebel Group Will Let the Indigenous Embera Community to Return to Its Lands

Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that his country had agreed with the ELN rebel group to allow the indigenous Embera people to return to their lands in the country's western area.

In a public speech on Saturday in Dabeiba, a town in northwest Colombia, Petro said, "The first point of agreement that we reached with the ELN - in barely a week of these dialogues - is the return of the Indigenous Embera people ... to their reservations."

When the Embera returns to their traditional lands in the western Colombian regions of Choco and Risaralda is unknown, at least according to Petro, per Al Jazeera.

They were on the run from ELN, right-wing armed groups, and drug traffickers.

Many displaced Embera has relocated to the Colombian capital, where they routinely clash with police and stage highly publicized rallies in public parks.

Colombia President Gustavo Petro Promises to Bring Peace

Gustavo Petro has said that he will bring back "total peace" by talking to rebels and criminal groups involved in drug trafficking and illegal mining.

Previous negotiation attempts with the ELN rebel group failed due to disagreements among its members.

The group's leaders said there was harmony in the group. Still, it needs to be clarified how much power the negotiators have over the active units, as ELN's negotiating team is much older than the rest of the group.

Colombia's Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez said that the negotiations do not mean that military operations against the guerrillas will stop.

Former President Ivan Duque ended talks between the ELN and the government in 2019 because the ELN refused to stop fighting and killed 22 police cadets in a bombing. In 2017, words got underway.

In addition, Petro has promised to implement a 2016 peace agreement with the FARC guerrillas.

Over 450,000 individuals have lost their lives in Colombia's internal war during the past 60 years.

In 2016, Colombia and FARC peace talks reached a peace agreement that included the rebel organization receiving ten seats in the Colombian parliament.

Furthermore, the government allowed the insurgents to form their political party.

The Colombian government has pledged funds for various land-titling schemes and rural-development initiatives as part of the peace agreement with the FARC.

The FARC disintegrated after the peace agreement, leaving the ELN as Colombia's most significant Leftist guerrilla force.

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This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Bert Hoover

WATCH: Colombia begins peace talks with ELN rebels; President Petro promises to bring 'total peace' - From WION