Speaking from Havana, Cuba , ELN military chief Antonio Garcia announced that the ELN Central Command (Coce) would respect the Colombian legislative elections scheduled for March 12 and would impose a unilateral ceasefire. The cessation of hostilities will go into effect “a few hours before” the election begins and will end “a few hours after” the voting has concluded. Garcia emphasized the ELN’s commitment to the democratization of Colombia, expressing the group’s commitment not to carry out attacks “on voting stations or on people who are going to participate in the elections.” Colombian President Alvaro Uribe praised the decision and articulated his hope that the goodwill gesture would “help the peace-building process.” Speaking to reporters on March 2, Uribe revealed his “personnel [sic] sense of happiness that the ELN has made the announcement to Colombia,” according to AP, hoping the truce may become permanent and may constitute a road to definitive peace.
The ELN announcement came on the heals of the conclusion of second round peace talks between the ELN and the Colombian government that took place from February 17 to February 28 in Cuba. Although no major progress was achieved in establishing permanent peace, several smaller breakthroughs were accomplished, setting the stage for more amicable and productive talks scheduled to occur in late April. Uribe briefly outlined the government concessions made to the ELN to demonstrate the government’s continuing flexibility in achieving a lasting peace with the group. The first of these concessions granted political status to ELN negotiators. The second concession suspended arrest warrants against the ELN leadership, including Antonio Garcia and Ramiro Vargas . ELN spokesman Francisco Galan (see photo below), who had been temporarily released from prison to aid in the peace process , will also remain out of prison. The Coce has applauded these concessions and hopes that by granting the group political status, “the Colombian government is officially recognizing that the violence in Colombia is the result of internal conflict and not a concerted terrorist campaign by the FARC [Group Profile] and the ELN.”
However, the legislative elections will surely not be void of violence, as the FARC is pressing a sabotage and terrorist campaign against the upcoming vote. In the past 10 days, FARC guerrillas have killed 20 people and wounded scores of others throughout Colombia, including nine civilian bus passengers , eight local councilmen , and a child and two women . FARC guerrillas have also closed a number of highways to hinder the election and to demonstrate its continued protest against Uribe’s re-election bid. The transit ban extends until the May 28 presidential elections and has already caused widespread gasoline and food shortages in the Caqueta and Putumayo states. To ensure voters’ safety, Uribe has ordered the reassignment of all police and military forces currently carrying out administrative tasks to armed duty, deploying all active forces throughout the country in an attempt to stave off violence. Head of the National Police General Jorge Daniel Castro has vowed that “not a single police officer will remain in office and not one student will be left in training schools.”
Throughout his first term, Uribe demonstrated his commitment to the destruction of FARC forces and has increasingly sought the peaceful dissolution of the AUC and the ELN. Throughout 2005, the Uribe administration has progressed with its disarmament of the AUC and has hope that the willingness of the ELN to impose a temporary ceasefire during legislative elections is an indication that the group is willing to discuss a more permanent peace. The continued isolation of the FARC is a strategic move to force the group to the negotiating table and/or result in further severe setbacks to its fighting capabilities. Although Uribe’s policies have degraded the FARC, the group is still capable of conducting severe and deadly attacks and will continue to demonstrate their abilities in the lead-up to the March 12 legislative elections.