US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA9257

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 009257 
 
SIPDIS 
 
NOFORN 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2015 
TAGS: PGOV, PTER, SOCI, CO, ELN, ELN Peace Process, FARC 
SUBJECT: RECONCILIATION COMMISSION CONFIRMS PEACE PROCESS 
WITH GUERRILLAS STALLED 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood; reasons 1.4 
(b) and (d) 
 
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Summary 
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1. (C) Father Dario Echeverri (strictly protect), Secretary 
General of the National Reconciliation Commission (CCN) 
discussed the status of the Catholic Church's role in peace 
talks between guerrilla groups and the Colombian government. 
He said he believed both negotiations were on hold ) the ELN 
would not advance during Francisco Galan's parole and the 
FARC consistently had refused all offers to date.  He 
commented that the Catholic Church's efforts to serve as 
intermediary had stalled, but it remained committed. 
Echeverri claimed that imprisoned FARC "ambassador" Rodrigo 
Granda had prostate cancer and was reluctant to seek 
treatment outside of prison because he feared for his life. 
End summary. 
 
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ELN's Galan on Parole but Little More 
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2. (C) Father Dario Echeverri met Emboffs on September 22 and 
updated the Catholic Church's role in potential GOC talks 
with guerrillas.  According to Echeverri, the Catholic Church 
is committed to peace with the National Liberation Army (ELN) 
but not optimistic that ELN leader Francisco Galan's 
three-month parole will advance talks.  Galan's release is a 
good gesture, but he will spend most of his time shuttling 
between Bogota, Medellin and Cali to talk with civil society, 
he noted.   Echeverri said the Catholic Church decided to 
take a low-profile role in the Galan initiative, believing it 
would not amount to much.  He added that the Church remained 
frustrated with the ELN in the wake of its attempt to 
negotiate with Galan in July 2004.  The ELN kidnapped the 
Bishop of Yopal while a senior Church delegation was visiting 
with Galan in prison.  In Echeverri's view, this underscored 
that either the ELN was not serious about talks, or 
disorganized and unable to control its fighters.  The 
Catholic Church had to forgive, said Echeverri, but it had 
not forgotten the ELN's actions. 
 
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Church's Bolo Azul Suggestion Leaked 
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3. (C) All Catholic Church attempts to date to negotiate a 
humanitarian exchange with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of 
Colombia (FARC) had failed, according to Echeverri.  He 
reported that recently the Church had attempted to select a 
prisoner exchange location that would be amenable to the GOC 
and FARC in Valle del Cauca Department.  Valle del Cauca 
Governor Angelino Garzon suggested Bolo Azul Village, and 
Echeverri had planned to keep the suggestion confidential 
until the Constitutional Court ruled on the legality of the 
reelection law.  However, the secret reached ex-President 
Samper, who pushed the idea with the Uribe Administration. 
Echeverri lamented that the Bolo Azul proposal had become 
"Uribefied," political, and therefore unacceptable to the 
FARC.  He hoped that the Church could advance another 
proposal in a less politically charged climate in the future. 
 
4. (S) Echeverri asked whether Emboffs knew about the state 
of FARC "ambassador" Rodrigo Granda's health.  He said the 
Church had discovered Granda had prostate cancer and refused 
medical treatment out of fear that he would be killed.  The 
Church has asked the GOC for permission to visit Granda as a 
pastoral duty to assess his health.  Echeverri stressed that 
Granda is much more important than the Colombian Government 
knows and promised to keep the Embassy informed.  He said the 
GOC had refused to allow the Church to visit FARC prisoner 
Simon Trinidad last year, stating that it did not want to 
create "a Galan for the FARC" referring to the temporarily 
paroled ELN interlocutor Francisco Galan.  Nevertheless, 
Echeverri was hopeful that Archbishop Castro would be allowed 
to visit Granda since he was incarcerated in Castro's 
pastoral district. 
 
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European Trip Interesting but not Useful 
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5. (C) Echeverri reported that his recent trip to Geneva, the 
Netherlands and Spain had been interesting but had not 
advanced the peace process.  He spoke with several European 
officials, UN representatives, and unofficial interlocutors 
who agreed that the GOC's peace process with guerrilla groups 
had stalled.  He was impressed by the Europeans' interest in 
the Colombia peace process, but commented that one unofficial 
Swiss representative (Jean Paul Gontard) had offered the FARC 
different incentives to begin a humanitarian exchange and 
received nothing for his efforts.  "They (the FARC) have been 
stingy with him," said Echeverri. 
WOOD