This Thursday, November 19 the peace process in Havana marked its third anniversary involving more than 500 days of talks in the Cuban capital. While there is certain progress, time is running out on a March 23 deadline to sign a final agreement, as the parties cannot get past the issue of transitional justice.
The National Planning Department highlighted the importance of royalty resources for the post-conflict era, and has outlined changes being made to make their use more efficient.
A recent poll found a significant increase in public support for the peace process even though the approval of President Juan Manuel Santos rose to a smaller degree, while the Farc announced it will stop buying weapons and munitions, and called for a mutual truce.
A recent investigation contracted by the Colombian Attorney General Eduardo Montealegre and carried out by political analyst and journalist Natalia Springer traced the environmental damage which from ELN backed oil infrastructure attacks, particularly on the Coveñas/Caño Limon (CCL) pipeline.
Last week we tweeted an article from NGO CERAC with a graph showing that, since the last truce, most combats between the guerrilla and the Armed Forces were initiated by the Armed Forces. This data was seized upon by the Farc as evidence to support their view that the truce should be bilateral, a position rapidly rejected, at least by the Defense Minister.
The Farc warned that military operations are putting its cease fire at risk, and look bent on keeping the progress in Havana as slow as possible. It also said that a popular referendum on the agreement does not represent the organization.
President Juan Manuel Santos says that a bilateral cease fire could be ready by January 1, 2016, but urged the Farc to accelerate the negotiations in order to do so. Meanwhile the ELN orchestrated a deadly attack which left at least 11 soldiers and one police officer dead.
The Farc claimed that despite a preliminary agreement, its unilateral cease fire and a halt of bombings from the military, the army’s constant operations against it have moved it to suspend its political and cultural courses.
An agreement to search for those missing due to the conflict and a wide statement of support (with conditions) from the business community, plus more optimism from the general public in a recent poll made this last week a positive one for the government’s peace efforts. But doubts on transitional justice remain.
A regional military publication profiled the Colombian armed forces troops assigned the task of protecting the nation’s pipelines from guerrilla attacks, and detailed some of the collaboration with other government agencies on the environmental cost.
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