Colombia, ELN guerillas reach first agreement in peace talks

CARACAS, May 26 (AFP): Colombia's government and the ELN guerrilla group on Saturday signed the first agreement of their stop-start peace talks, which provides for the participation of civil society in the process.

The signing of the first of six accords on the peace agenda represents a major advance in the slow-moving dialogue between Bogota and the Marxist ELN, or National Liberation Army.

The negotiations, meant to end decades of armed conflict, began in late 2022 and resumed in early April this year in Venezuela.

"We know that peace is not built on oblivion and impunity, and that the voice of the victims is fundamental to this process and the legitimacy of the agreements," said representatives of the Colombian government and the ELN in a joint statement, referring to the involvement of civil society.