Colombia Peace Process
Uncertain
The road to the peace
process remains
uncertain in Colombia
Wednesday after the
government signalled
that it wants to
escalate its
anti-insurgency
operations.
President Alvaro Uribe
ordered yesterday the
Colombian Armed Forces
to increase military
operations against the
rebel National
Liberation Army (ELN),
particularly against the
guerrilla leadership.
According to Army
General Freddy Padilla
the President has
ordered them to locate
and arrest the
guerrillas in order to
bring them before a
court of law.
Local analysts think the
humanitarian agreement
and international
mediation are in danger
of cancellation after
the successful cover
operation to rescue
former presidential
candidate Ingrid
Betancourt and other 14
hostages from the
Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC).
According to Peace
Commissioner Luis Carlos
Restrepo time has come
for the government and
the FARC to seeking
direct negotiations.
The government’s
confidence in
international peace
mediation has been
cracked. Switzerland’s
role as a mediator with
the FARC should be
reassessed, Restrepo
claimed.
His statement is based
on files allegedly found
in slain FARC-commander
Raul Reyes’ computers.
Such information is
allegedly incriminating
for Swiss diplomat Jean
Pierre Gontard and
France’s Noel Saenz.
While local media is
insisting on such
alleged revelations, El
Tiempo newspaper termed
the release of the 15
FARC hostages as a
terrible blow to the
humanitarian agreement.
According to the daily,
there are signals that
Alvaro Uribe’s
government wants to have
the total control of the
negotiations.
Other sectors disallow
the military-armed way
to release FARC hostages
and advocate instead a
dialogue that would
eventually lead to peace
in Colombia.
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