The President Is Willing To Meet With Eln Leaders, May 29, 2001

The President Is Willing To Meet With Eln Leaders, May 29, 2001

Bogotá, D.C., May 29, 2001 (ANCOL)-

To boost the negotiation process with the ELN President Andres Pastrana showed himself willing to go the mountains area to meet with the leaders of that organization.

The Head of State said this during a satellite conference with the CNN Television Channel.

"The country friends of the peace process with the ELN are will to work this week and I hope to go to the mountains area of the country to stimulate the negotiation process with the ELN and we hope to be able to soon begin a peace process with this group," assured the Head of State during the World Report Conference of CNN.

"On the other hand with the Fac we have advanced in the negotiations. Something that is very important is that for the first time the Farc have accepted a 4 persons commission to present recommendations, in 90 days, about human rights and humanitarian issues," he added.

The Colombian president declared optimist about the advances that have been reached during his administration in the negotiation processes with these illegal groups.

"We are working with the Farc and we expect to reach humanitarian agreements concerning some of the soldiers retained by this group and some of the guerrilla members in our jails. For the first time an agreement in the negotiations would be reached," he added.

According to Pastrana, if the agreement is made it would be "one of the most important agreements because it is a humanitarian agreement and the starting point for the respect of human rights and humanitarian law in Colombia."