Bogotá, October 19 (teleSUR-RHC)-- The head of the Colombian guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN), Pablo Beltran, called on the government to begin open and public dialogue with the aim of negotiating peace with the rebel group, as peace talks in Havana, Cuba, with the FARC rebels lead to a final agreement before the March 23, 2016 deadline.

“In all issues of democratization of the country, of changes, of the situation of the victims, the end of the conflict, in all this foreseen for the table (of negotiations) the major participation of the public is necessary,” Beltran told Noticias Capital. “We are available and ready to pass to a public phase.”  

The ELN commander said that although a desire for peace from the government of President Juan Manuel Santos does exist, the actions against social leaders and human rights defenders make those who want to disarm mistrust the government.

“We see that there is no desire for peace further than the discussions, the rhetoric, still we do not dare to say that the negotiations with the ELN could be useful to contribute to the political solution to the conflict,” he added.
       
The peace talks are designed to end the bloody internal conflict, in which rebel groups, paramilitaries, state security forces and drug traffickers have been involved since 1964 with a death toll of some 220,000, while over 6 million people were displaced.

Last week, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa praised the “successful” preliminary peace talks his country hosted between representatives of the Colombian government and ELN.

“For obvious reasons, the meetings were confidential,” said Correa. “They were successful, and the Colombian government is very grateful ... This allowed the peace talks with the ELN to make important steps forward, and soon an open and formal dialogue will start, with a similar methodology to the FARC's.”