Venezuela Hosts Colombian State-Segunda Marquetalia Peace Dialogue
Representatives of the Colombian government and the Second Marquetalia guerrilla, Caracas, Venezuela, June 24, Photo: X/ @avnve
June 24, 2024 Hour: 1:34 pm
Venezuela, Cuba, and Norway act as guarantors of the peace negotiations with the support of the United Nations
On Monday, the delegations from the Colombian state and the Segunda Marquetalia guerrilla formally established the negotiation table for the first cycle of peace talks.
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The delegations are headed by former magistrate Armando Novoa, representing the Colombian government, and by Walter Mendoza, a guerrilla member who participated in the creation of the mobile columns of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), from which the Segunda Marquetalia emerged as a dissident group.
Starting Tuesday and continuing until Saturday, the negotiators plan to address specific topics on the dialogue agenda, define negotiation protocols, and announce the first measures to help advance the de-escalation of the conflict.
“The success of the peace and the dialogues that are beginning require a strong cohesion of the parties on the path to a political solution and their willingness to refrain from actions that undermine mutual trust,” the negotiating parties said in a joint statement.
The delegations from the Colombian state and the Segunda Marquetalia committed to prioritizing measures to guarantee the life and security of the communities and those participating in the peace process. They also called for “maintaining the confidence of the entire country and the international community in the peace talks.”
Venezuela, Cuba, and Norway act as guarantors of the peace negociations, supported by the United Nations and the Colombian Episcopal Conference. The ongoing process is possible thanks to the approval of the ‘Total Peace Law’ in Colombia, which aims to allow renegotiation for those who left the 2016 Peace Agreement between the Colombian state and the FARC.
The Segunda Marquetalia, a guerrilla group composed of about 2,000 combatants that took its name from the place where the FARC was founded in 1964, was created in 2019 when Ivan Marquez, who is participating in the current negotiation process, returned to clandestinity.
This five-day dialogue will take place in Caracas, Venezuela, a country that hosts the Colombian parties amid the traditional celebrations of the Battle of Carabobo, which takes place every June 24th to commemorate the victory of the Liberator Simon Bolivar over the Spanish royalist forces in 1821.
Autor: teleSUR/ JF
Fuente: EFE
