Given the endless military war and continuing impunity for cowardly murders of social leaders and former guerrillas, armed violence in Colombia shows no signs of abating or giving peace a chance.
Nothing compatible with peaceful coexistence can be found in the language used by the promoters of conflict. While the U.S. has made the cynical accusation that Cuba does not cooperate in fighting terrorism and does not agree with such efforts - despite being a victim of such crimes - there are those in Colombia who are quick to say that it is true, because Cuba will not accept violations of the protocols agreed upon during the peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP guerillas, held in Havana.
The issue is that the Colombian government has demanded from the Cuban government the "capture and extradition" of leaders of the National Liberation Army (ELN) who are part of this groups delegations to talks in Cuba. This would obviously contradict the aforementioned protocols, which define very well how to proceed in the event of a breakdown in negotiations, but given the island's exemplary diplomacy, the country would never agree to act in such a manner.
The last of the three established protocols states that, in the event of a breakdown, the delegation must be guaranteed a safe return to ELN camps. This is an agreement the government of Iván Duque now intends to ignore, while guarantor countries insist on the need to comply, since the protocol is part of a state agreement.
In a very recent interview with the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, the Norwegian ambassador there, John Petter Opdahl, stated: "Our position is the same as it has been from the beginning. Being a co-signatory, along with several other countries, of this protocol that was agreed upon by two parties, ensuring the safe return in case of a breakdown of the negotiations, we must honor it".
His words seem to have been spoken to set the tone for all participants. He was even more precise, as he continued: "We must remember that, at the time, Cuba accepted the responsibility of hosting the negotiations at the request of the two parties. Of course, in a peace negotiation, the host country must guarantee the physical and legal security of delegations. If there is any doubt about a host country's ability to guarantee security, the road to peace will be much more difficult. This principle is valid for any peace process in the world.”
There is nothing more to say. If Cuba's position, stated by Cuba, cannot be heard in Colombia, the same arguments can be heard from someone else.
For now, the unavoidable truth is that the Colombian government is ignoring the protocol to be followed in the event of a breakdown in the peace process by demanding Cuba's capture and extradition of members of the ELN delegation, in violation of the agreement signed by the Colombian state with six guarantor countries - a very serious precedent that puts at risk the search for negotiated solutions to conflicts around the world, and slams the door to peace in Colombia.
