Dissidents of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group operating in the northwestern department of Antioquia announced a ceasefire in that region of the country on Thursday after the government asked for a “gesture” to begin peace negotiations.
“We hereby wish to respond to the announcements and requests made by the President, Dr. Gustavo Petro, in recent days in the municipality of Ituango (Antioquia), during a public event. We sincerely and respectfully address these words to the High Commissioner for Peace, Dr. Danilo Rueda,” the dissident group said in a statement.
The letter was also addressed to Senator Iván Cepeda and Foreign Minister Álvaro Leyva.
The 36th FARC Dissident Front also called on the other armed groups to accept the proposal of “total peace” made by President Petro.
“For this reason, we welcome the call for a multilateral ceasefire as a humanitarian gesture that, although it does not mean peace, as the president said, will bring enormous benefits to the situation of indiscriminate war in the department of Antioquia,” he added in his message.
Last Saturday, the Colombian president proposed a “multilateral ceasefire” to all armed groups in the country to achieve “total peace” and suspend the actions of the internal armed conflict.
The presidential statements were made during his visit to Ituango, where the second unified command post for life had been established.