US embassy cable - 05BOGOTA10992

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 010992 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/23/2015 
TAGS: PTER, PREL, PGOV, CO 
SUBJECT: ELN WARMING TO NEGOTIATION OPTIONS, FARC NOT MOVING 
 
REF: BOGOTA 10889 
 
Classified By: Charge Milton K. Drucker; reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
1. (C) Summary: On November 21, ELN Spokesperson "Francisco 
Galan" announced that the ELN was ready to begin establishing 
peace talks with the Colombian government.  Civil society 
guarantor Alejo Vargas reported optimism that the ELN could 
be successful in this negotiation effort.  At the same time, 
the FARC has been reportedly hardening its position against 
negotiating terms of a prisoner swap. National Reconciliation 
Commission SYG Echeverri (strictly protect) declared the FARC 
to be increasingly rigid in its negotiation stance and said 
he doubted the latest GOC overture towards the FARC would be 
successful.  End summary. 
 
2.  (U) On November 21, Gerardo Bermudez, a.k.a. "Francisco 
Galan," read a communique from the National Liberation Army 
(ELN) which approved establishing peace talks with the 
Colombian Government.  Galan, accompanied by civil society 
guarantors, announced that the ELN planned to work towards a 
peace negotiation draft in consultations.  Alejo Vargas, one 
of the civil society guarantors, expressed optimism that this 
effort would be successful despite a history of negotiation 
failures over the last five years.  He said it was the first 
time the ELN was really being respected as a negotiating 
presence.  As of November 22, neither the GOC nor ELN had set 
a date for a working meeting to discuss establishing peace 
talks. 
 
3. (C) Although the ELN has displayed some flexibility in 
negotiating with the GOC with its message, the Revolutionary 
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) remains entrenched.  For 
example, the GOC offered the FARC international mediation to 
overcome the impasse surrounding hostage negotiations 
(reftel), but the FARC told Catholic Church interlocutors it 
would only accept a demilitarized zone for a trade.  Given 
Colombia's one experience with the demilitarized zone 
established by President Pastrana, the GOC has repeatedly 
refused to demilitarize any section of Colombia, but has 
offered to consider other conditions.  Also, the FARC 
continues to demand the release of 500 guerrillas in exchange 
for its 59 hostages.  The GOC unilaterally released 23 
guerrillas in December 2004 to demonstrate good faith. 
Following the decision of the Constitutional Court approving 
reelection, the FARC appears to be returning to the more 
difficult full exchange request. 
 
4. (C) In a meeting with PolCouns on November 21, Secretary 
General of the Church,s National Reconciliation Commission 
Father Dario Echeverri (strictly protect) reported that the 
FARC had said all GOC-initiated exchange proposals were 
doomed to failure.  He said the FARC distrusts all 
interlocutors as pawns of GOC plans.  Echeverri said the FARC 
was becoming more inflexible with time, although the FARC 
spokesperson told the Church representatives that elections 
were not a barrier to negotiation with the GOC despite its 
antipathy towards the Uribe Administration.  The spokesperson 
claimed that the FARC wanted to realize an exchange and was 
only awaiting the GOC's agreement to a demilitarized zone. 
Although Echeverri promised that the Catholic Church would 
continue its mediation efforts between the GOC and FARC, he 
was pessimistic that there would be any movement. 
DRUCKER