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Colombian ELN rebels reject Mexico as mediator
18 Apr 2005 22:51:44 GMT
Source: Reuters
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BOGOTA, Colombia, April 18 (Reuters) - The Colombian government's attempts to set up peace talks with the country's second-largest Marxist rebel army suffered a setback on Monday when the guerrillas rejected Mexico as a mediator after almost a year of behind-the-scenes work. The National Liberation Army, known by the Spanish initials ELN, said in a communique that it objected to a recent vote by the Mexican government condemning human rights abuses in Cuba. The ELN's objection came after the Mexico had worked since June last year mediating between the rebels and the Colombian government, setting the stage for possible talks between the two sides in Mexico city. "The current Mexican government is not qualified to facilitate peace in Colombia," the ELN said, adding that the rebel army had "an irrevocable commitment to seeking peace." The ELN was originally a Cuban-inspired group, although recently Havana has participated as one of a group of "friendly countries" aiming to help pave the way for peace talks. A deal looks to bring the ELN's four-decade-old war against the state to a close faces many obstacles. The group wants President Alvaro Uribe to free ELN prisoners from Colombian jails and negotiate a bilateral cease-fire. Uribe has said the ELN, which funds itself by kidnapping, must unilaterally disarm if talks are to take place. While the Andean country's biggest guerrilla force, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and right-wing paramilitary militias have grown rich on the huge cocaine business, the ELN has officially sworn off drug smuggling. This leaves it at a financial disadvantage that may help prompt it to follow the steps of former rebel group M-19, which in 1989 negotiated a deal to disarm.
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