Cablegate: Goc Peace Commissioner On Eln, Paramilitaries And

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/14/2016
TAGS: MARR PGOV PREL PTER CO CS CU FR NO SP SZ
SUBJECT: GOC PEACE COMMISSIONER ON ELN, PARAMILITARIES AND
THE FARC

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

1.(C) Summary: GOC Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo
told the Ambassador August 8 he would soon meet with ELN
leader Antonio Garcia to deliver a bold peace proposal aimed
at accelerating the ELN peace process. He urged the U.S. to
insist that the ELN renounce violence and to call for justice
for ELN members who had committed serious crimes. Such U.S.
action would enhance the GOC,s leverage in the ELN talks.
On the paramilitaries, Restrepo said GOC issuance of
implementing regulations for the Justice and Peace
law*despite the high domestic and international political
costs*would create an opportunity to consolidate the
demobilization of paramilitary leaders and their
organizations. Restrepo said GOC overtures to the FARC are
subordinate to the GOC's democratic security strategy. The
GOC believes the FARC is only interested in tactical talks at
this time. End Summary

ELN
---
2.(C) Restrepo told the Ambassador August 8 he would soon
meet discreetly with ELN leader Antonio Garcia to deliver an
&audacious8 GOC peace proposal aimed at accelerating the
ELN process. If Garcia reacts favorably, it will start a
formal peace process. The GOC believes conditions are ripe
for such an initiative, since the ELN,s Central Command
(COCE) recognizes it is increasingly losing control over its
military fronts, is under growing Colombian military
pressure, and faces a significant FARC threat. Some ELN
fronts are becoming more involved in narcotrafficking; others
are in danger of being absorbed by the FARC. The ELN cannot
survive two years of desultory peace talks, Restrepo said.
If the process dragged on, the ELN would disintegrate.
Moreover, ELN leaders want very much to participate, in some
form, in the October 2007 local elections. Since this would
require two sessions of congress to approve a constitutional
reform, there must be forward progress quickly.

3.(C) Restrepo said the GOC,s peace proposal would focus on
a cease-fire, disarmament, and the group,s entry into the
democratic political process. The ELN rejected the notion
that the Justice and Peace Law would apply to its members.
The GOC is not working on an alternative legal framework, but
does not rule out the possibility. Restrepo said the GOC is
not in a strong enough political position at the moment to
insist that the justice issue be included. &If we cannot
get the ELN to accept a ceasefire, how can we push for
justice?8 he asked. The GOC is under no pressure from
Colombian or international civil society, the European
countries accompanying the process (Spain, Norway and
Switzerland), or Colombian public opinion to raise justice
issues with the ELN.

4.(C) Restrepo said the ELN,s desire to participate in
elections could help introduce the justice issue into the
talks. ELN members who had committed human rights abuses
could not hold office without constitutional reform.
Congress would have to approve such a change, which could
trigger a public debate over the appropriate punishment for
ELN members.

5.(C) Restrepo said the designation of the ELN as a terrorist
group by the U.S. and the European Union (EU) gives the
international community some leverage over the group. The
ELN wants to get off the terrorist lists and to be viewed as
a legitimate political actor. Restrepo urged the U.S. to
insist that the ELN renounce violence and to call for justice
for ELN members who have committed serious crimes. He also
asked that the U.S. coordinate such a stance with the EU.
This would enhance the GOC,s bargaining position, and would
put the justice issue on the negotiating table.

6.(C) Restrepo said that despite the ELN,s weakness,
negotiations with the group would not be easy. The ELN is &a

group of kidnappers with good public relations.8 & They
have a kidnappers, mentality of give me, give me, give me,8
Restrepo declared. Still, if all went well, the next round
of talks*while not yet scheduled*would occur in Havana. It
would be a mistake to accede to the ELN,s wish that the
talks shift to Europe without first arriving at basic
agreements, Restrepo said.

Paramilitary Process
--------------------
7.(C) Restrepo said the paramilitary process aims to take
down the paramilitary (para) leaders and their organizations
in a slow, step-by-step fashion. It is key to keep the paras
at the negotiating table. The process almost broke down
after the Constitutional Court,s May 19 press release
outlining its ruling on the Justice and Peace Law (Law 975).
Many paras asserted that given the ruling, their signatures
on the Law 975 list of paras seeking the law,s benefits are
no longer valid. Para leader Ernesto Baez had urged para
commander El Aleman not to demobilize his forces due to the
ruling, but Aleman had ignored the request. Still, the
process remains fragile. Restrepo said the collapse of the
para process would be a disaster. It would radicalize
mid-level commanders, lead to renewed violence, and undermine
any ELN process.

8.(C) Restrepo said the next step is for the GOC to issue
implementing regulations clarifying the Constitutional
Court,s ruling on Law 975. He acknowledged the regulations
would be controversial and that the GOC would pay a high
domestic and international political cost. Still, the
issuance of the regulations was key, since it would give the
GOC the political strength to hand over the Law 975 list of
paramilitaries to the Prosecutor General (Fiscalia). If the
paras continued to object to the list, the GOC would be in a
strong political position to go after them militarily. If
the paras acquiesced, the Law 975 process would start in
terms of both truth and reparations. This would create a new
political dynamic, and would offer an opportunity to
consolidate the demobilization of para leaders and their
organizations. It would also invovle the Fiscalia in the
process.

9.(C) Asked about Costa Rican President Oscar Arias, meeting
with paramilitary leaders in San Jose on August 4, Restrepo
said there was almost no prior coordination with the GOC.
The Costa Rican Foreign Ministry had called Restrepo the day
before the meeting to inform him that 20 paramilitary leaders
would meet with Arias in San Jose. The GOC objected, and in
the end, only four paras traveled to Costa Rica. Restrepo
said in a follow-up meeting with President Uribe in Bogota
after the inauguration, it was clear that Arias, overture to
the paras was designed to give the Costa Rican President a
role in the GOC,s peace efforts with the ELN and FARC as
well. The GOC would resist such a move. Still, the GOC
appreciated that the paras, meeting with Arias had enhanced
the credibility of the para process. In addition, the
Fundacion Arias has agreed to provide some technical
assistance to the process.

FARC
----
10.(C) Restrepo said President Uribe is quietly conveying to
the FARC his willingness to talk through the Catholic Church,
international community (Spain, France and Switzerland), and
local interlocutors such as Alvaro Leyva and Carlos Lozano.
The GOC also has its own direct channel to the group. He
said the GOC has no illusions the FARC will respond
positively in the near term, but it suits the GOC,s
interests to be perceived as leaving a door open to the
group. Still, the peace initiative is subordinate to the
GOC,s democratic security policy. The GOC,s overtures to
the FARC are &a skirmish we need to win to advance our
military goals.8 Restrepo said the GOC would not make a
public offer to either the FARC or ELN to avoid putting

pressure on itself.

11.(C) Restrepo said the FARC continues to take an "arrogant"
approach to the GOC, conditioning the start of broad peace
talks on GOC demilitarization of two departments*Caqueta and
Putumayo. The FARC apparently envisions these departments
enjoying only a loose territorial association to Colombia.
He said the FARC is alarmed by U.S. indictments of over 50
FARC leaders, and will seek a no-extradition commitment from
the GOC and the U.S. in any process. Still, at the moment,
FARC leaders believe they have absorbed the Colombian
military,s best punch and are still standing. They feel no
pressure to engage in more than tactical discussions.
Restrepo speculated that the Colombian military would need to
kill or capture one or two secretariat members before the
FARC would consider serious peace discussions.

WOOD

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