Five Colombian bishops will be directly involved in peace talks
between the country’s government and the rebels of the Ejercito de
Liberacion Nacional (ELN), the bishops’ conference has disclosed.“The Church will be present in the public phase of the talks with a committee of five bishops in the hardest-hit territories by the guerillas,” said Archbishop Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga of Tunja, the president of the bishops’ conference.
The Fides news service explained that the bishops would not act as mediators or direct participants in the talks, but would “be of support” to the quest for a peace agreement.
Government talks with ELN leaders are scheduled to begin on October 27.
The ELN is the smaller of two rebel forces that have been active in Colombia.
The larger rebel force, the FARC, has already reached a peace agreement with the government, although the terms of that agreement were rejected by the public in a referendum vote.