Colombian President Gustavo Petro announced Monday that Colombia is suspending a truce with the Estado Mayor Central (EMC) insurgent group in flashpoint areas–together with Meta, Guaviare, Putumayo and Caqueta–after the group killed 4 indigenous kids. EMC is an offshoot of the now-disbanded Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). It consists of leftist guerrilla fighters who refused to affix a peace deal signed by the FARC management in 2016, which noticed most rebels lay down their arms.
Petro effected a six-month truce with EMC, which has been in place since January 1, and EMC introduced that it’s going to start peace talks with the federal government on Might 16. Nonetheless, following the killing of 4 Indigenous kids by EMC, Petro questioned EMC’s dedication to the bilateral ceasefire settlement. He criticized the group’s violence, stating that the killings constituted crimes towards humanity. As well as, he expressed that, if the bilateral ceasefire was not sufficient to guard Colombian lives, then there was no level in its continued existence.
Petro later declared that the federal government took the unilateral motion to partially droop the consequences of Decree 2656 of 2022, successfully suspending the ceasefire with EMC and reactivating all offensive operations within the 4 flashpoint areas inside 72 hours. However, the federal government mentioned that it’s going to proceed sustaining its bilateral ceasefire settlement with EMC in different components of Colombia the place the variety of assaults has decreased. As well as, it is going to appoint delegates to guide peace talks with the insurgent group.
In the meantime, EMC claimed that the top of the unilateral ceasefire will trigger struggle and a rise in deaths, accidents and prisoners. Moreover, the group expressed that the federal government’s need for change is seen solely in speeches and guarantees.
EMC shouldn’t be the one insurgent group to have resisted the Colombian authorities’s efforts. In March, a ceasefire settlement between the Gulf Clan and the federal government broke down after the Gulf Clan defied authorities efforts to clamp down on unlawful mines. Furthermore, the Nationwide Liberation Military (ELN) rejected the preliminary ceasefire settlement proposed by the federal government, and not too long ago paused peace talks after Petro mentioned that its youthful commanders have been motivated by drug trafficking income, not political targets.
As Colombia’s first left-wing president and a former guerrilla fighter, Petro has tried to fight the violence that indigenous communities face from felony teams in Colombia by participating in peace negotiations with insurgent teams. Based on a Red Cross report in March, violence between armed teams and authorities forces had deescalated; nonetheless, civilians have continued to face displacements and violence from armed teams.
Source / Picture: jurist.org
