Colombia’s government and its largest remaining guerrilla group have agreed to a six-month ceasefire at talks in Cuba, in the latest attempt to resolve a conflict dating back to the 1960s.
The government and the National Liberation Army, or ELN, announced the accord at a ceremony in Havana on Friday attended by Colombia’s president, Gustavo Petro, top guerrilla commander Antonio García and Cuban officials. The ceasefire takes effect in phases, goes fully into effect in August and then lasts for six months.
“This effort to look for peace is a beacon of hope that conflicts can be resolved politically and diplomatically,” top rebel negotiator Pablo Beltrán said at the ceremony.
The talks originally were scheduled to conclude with an official ceremony on Thursday, but were postponed as the parties asked for additional time to work on final details. Petro traveled to the island for the ceremony, saying it could herald an “era of peace” in Colombia.
The accord reached Friday also calls for the formation of a broadly representative national committee by late July to discuss a lasting peace.
“You have here proposed a bilateral agreement, and I agree with that, but Colombian society has to be able to debate it, and to participate,” Petro said during the ceremony.
García, the rebel commander, said his group was “very confident” in the accord, though he characterised it as “procedural” and not yet the “substantial” kind needed “for Colombia to change”.
Negotiations between th
