By Patricia Grogg
HAVANA, Jun 28 2007 (IPS)

While there appears to be progress in ongoing talks here towards a ceasefire between the Colombian government and the insurgent National Liberation Army (ELN), it was confirmed Thursday that 11 lawmakers taken hostage in 2002 by Colombia&#39s largest guerrilla group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), had recently been killed.

ELN spokesman Pablo Beltrán at Havana press conference. Credit:

The FARC Western Joint Command had issued a communiqué dated Jun. 23 that the hostages had been killed on Jun. 18. It was not made public until Thursday, when it appeared on the Anncol web site, based in Sweden.

Still held hostage by the FARC are former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and her running mate Clara Rojas, as well as eight other politicians, dozens of members of the military and police, and three U.S. military aid contractors.

President Álvaro Uribe and the Colombian Armed Forces Command denied any government involvement in such an attack or that it had been a botched attempt at a military rescue. There were rumours initially that rightwing paramilitaries were responsible, but those groups usually work in tandem with the government forces.

While the blame game is likely to continue in regards to the deaths in Colombia, talks in the Cuban capital between the Colombian government and the smaller of Colombia&#39s two main insurgent movements, the ELN, may lead to an agreement in July that would include a temporary cessation of hostilities and the release of hostages.

He denied that the number of kidnap victims held by the ELN was as high as the Colombian authorities, the media or the Red Cross claim, and said they were only a few dozen.

Beltrán is representing the ELN at talks in Havana with Luis Carlos Restrepo, the Uribe administration&#39s high commissioner for peace. This is the sixth round of the exploratory talks that have taken place in the Cuban capital since December 2005.

The current round began two months ago. Unlike the first three or four series of meetings, when both delegations held frequent press conferences, these talks have been held discreetly, in a shroud of silence.

The FARC and ELN both emerged in 1964, but have different origins and ideologies. FARC is a rural guerrilla movement, rooted in the violent civil war of 1946, while the ELN was inspired by the Cuban Revolution and the principles of Liberation Theology.

Also participating in Colombia&#39s civil war are ultra-rightwing paramilitary militias, now partially demobilised following the signing of a secret agreement with the Uribe administration.

IPS asked Beltrán about clashes between FARC and the ELN, and their possible impact on a future ceasefire agreement with the government. Beltrán replied that those difficulties and differences still exist.

“Efforts are being made to mitigate the problems between the two guerrilla movements. Unfortunately, some leaders think that dialogue between revolutionaries is a less urgent matter,” and this point of view allows “conditions to persist that could lead to new conflicts,” he said.

Beltrán added that if the ELN agrees to a truce, it will take every precaution to ensure its security and defence, because it could be attacked by any side as in Colombia&#39s history ceasefires have often been covertly broken. One side puts on another&#39s armbands and attacks whomever they wish, he said.

“Naturally, we don&#39t expect FARC to attack us, but we do expect attacks from parties under the guise of FARC. That&#39s why we are preparing ourselves, keeping our guard up and raising it still higher, in order to avoid involving ourselves in offensive actions, and our defence arrangements will be stricter than they are today,” the guerrilla leader said.

He added that the ELN&#39s willingness to implement a ceasefire was “a gesture for peace in Colombia,” which the government delegation had not needed to wrest from them by force.

Expanding on this point, which is perhaps one of the most complex issues at these talks, Beltrán said that in the last few weeks the debate had been about what the government could offer that would match the ELN&#39s proposal. “That&#39s where the problems arise: sometimes the discussions degenerate into bargaining sessions,” he said.

“Both sides want a ceasefire that will put a stop to offensive operations by both forces,” and also “stop all attacks on the civilian population and infrastructure,” he said.

However, Beltrán said that the government should not expect any advantage from the ceasefire, and nor does the ELN, that is to say, the army should not have to confine itself to barracks nor the ELN guerrillas to their fixed camps.

“There is willingness to fulfil the promise that each side will abstain from attacking the other,” he emphasised, and added that if problems arise, they will be looked upon as accidental, not deliberate violations of the truce.

According to Beltrán, although agreements on some points have led to progress in the last two months, there are still some major obstacles to reaching an understanding.

“We still have two different road maps. The ELN believes that a political solution to armed conflict in Colombia must involve profound structural transformations that are social, economic and political,” whereas the government is only interested in getting rid of the guerrillas. “We&#39re talking two different languages, or we&#39re tuned to two different frequencies,” he said.

Despite this less-than-ideal climate for the negotiations, “pragmatic” efforts are being made to reach an initial agreement aimed at humanitarian relief, a ceasefire, and the opportunity for more civilian social participation. “We have made progress, but we are not satisfied yet,” he said.

Beltrán also said that most political prisoners in Colombia are activists who are not involved in armed struggle, and the ELN is demanding a pardon or an amnesty for them, “because the idea is to provide humanitarian relief and create conditions for a participative society,” he said.

According to Colombian law, amnesties can only be granted by Congress, whereas pardons are a presidential prerogative, “which is why, in Colombia, pardons are the formula used at present,” Beltrán said.

There are guerrillas among those in jail, and if an agreement were reached under which they were pardoned, “it would be no bad thing, from our point of view,” he said.

The ELN and government delegations are working separately at the moment, and Beltrán did not mention a date when they might resume talks.

(*With reporting by Constanza Vieira from Bogotá.)

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