Colombia's leftist ELN rebels claimed responsibility on Monday for the bombing of a police academy in Bogota that killed 20 people as well as the attacker, and also called on the government to resume stalled peace talks.
The National Liberation Army said Thursday's car bombing, which sparked nationwide protests, was in retaliation for the refusal of President Ivan Duque's government to respect a unilateral ceasefire declared by the rebels over Christmas.
"The operation carried out against these installations and troops is lawful within the law of war. There were no non-combatant victims," the ELN said in a statement on its website.
It added that the academy was a military installation where cadets received training to become intelligence operatives and conduct military operations.
"The president did not respect the gesture of peace" and "his response was to carry out military attacks against us," it said.
Specifically, the ELN said Colombian troops bombed a camp on December 25, affecting a family of nearby farmers.
"It is then very disproportionate that, while the government is attacking us, we cannot respond in self-defense," the statement added.
That position was backed by the guerrillas' chief negotiator in Havana, Pablo Beltran.
"No one can demand we sit on our hands if we're under attack," he told AFP in an exclusive interview.
The attack was a major setback to two years of peace talks with the ELN -- first hosted by Ecuador and subsequently by Cuba. They failed to go beyond the exploratory stage before stalling when the right-wing Duque took power in August 2018.
- ELN repeats peace call -
Nonetheless, the ELN urged Duque to send a delegation to Havana to "continue the peace process and the building of agreements brought by the previous government" of Juan Manuel Santos.
In the wake of the bombing, Duque had announced that he was reinstating arrest warrants for 10 ELN members who are part of the group's Cuban delegation and said he was revoking "the resolution creating the conditions that allow their stay in that country."
Even before Thursday's attack, Duque had set a number of conditions to resume the talks with the ELN, including the release of all hostages and an end to "criminal activities," something the rebels rejected as "unacceptable."
Colombia's high commissioner for peace, Miguel Caballos, said there was "no obligation on the administration currently in power" to restart the stalled negotiations.
Duque called on Cuba to detain and extradite "these criminals so justice can be done."
But Beltran asked the government to provide "guarantees" for the delegation's return to Colombia within 15 days as established by protocol when negotiations break down, while ruling out an asylum request.
Cuba was quick to distance itself from the attack.
"Cuba has never allowed, nor will ever allow its territory to be used to organize terrorist attacks against any state," Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in a tweet.
Thousands of people marched throughout Colombia on Sunday to condemn the car bombing, the deadliest attack with explosives in Bogota since 2003.
Protests were held in several cities around the country, with marchers in white waving Colombian flags and chanting slogans like "cowardly killers" and "life is sacred."
The peace talks had been aimed at ending more than five decades of insurgency by the Marxist-inspired guerrillas.
Colombia has experienced relative calm since the 2016 peace accord signed by then-president Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels.
With the landmark agreement turning the FARC into a political party, the smaller ELN is considered the last active rebel group in the country.
Colombia’s leftist ELN rebels claimed responsibility on Monday for the bombing of a police academy in Bogota that killed 20 people as well as the attacker, and also called on the government to resume stalled peace talks.
The National Liberation Army said Thursday’s car bombing, which sparked nationwide protests, was in retaliation for the refusal of President Ivan Duque’s government to respect a unilateral ceasefire declared by the rebels over Christmas.
“The operation carried out against these installations and troops is lawful within the law of war. There were no non-combatant victims,” the ELN said in a statement on its website.
It added that the academy was a military installation where cadets received training to become intelligence operatives and conduct military operations.
“The president did not respect the gesture of peace” and “his response was to carry out military attacks against us,” it said.
Specifically, the ELN said Colombian troops bombed a camp on December 25, affecting a family of nearby farmers.
“It is then very disproportionate that, while the government is attacking us, we cannot respond in self-defense,” the statement added.
That position was backed by the guerrillas’ chief negotiator in Havana, Pablo Beltran.
“No one can demand we sit on our hands if we’re under attack,” he told AFP in an exclusive interview.
The attack was a major setback to two years of peace talks with the ELN — first hosted by Ecuador and subsequently by Cuba. They failed to go beyond the exploratory stage before stalling when the right-wing Duque took power in August 2018.
– ELN repeats peace call –
Nonetheless, the ELN urged Duque to send a delegation to Havana to “continue the peace process and the building of agreements brought by the previous government” of Juan Manuel Santos.
In the wake of the bombing, Duque had announced that he was reinstating arrest warrants for 10 ELN members who are part of the group’s Cuban delegation and said he was revoking “the resolution creating the conditions that allow their stay in that country.”
Even before Thursday’s attack, Duque had set a number of conditions to resume the talks with the ELN, including the release of all hostages and an end to “criminal activities,” something the rebels rejected as “unacceptable.”
Colombia’s high commissioner for peace, Miguel Caballos, said there was “no obligation on the administration currently in power” to restart the stalled negotiations.
Duque called on Cuba to detain and extradite “these criminals so justice can be done.”
But Beltran asked the government to provide “guarantees” for the delegation’s return to Colombia within 15 days as established by protocol when negotiations break down, while ruling out an asylum request.
Cuba was quick to distance itself from the attack.
“Cuba has never allowed, nor will ever allow its territory to be used to organize terrorist attacks against any state,” Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez said in a tweet.
Thousands of people marched throughout Colombia on Sunday to condemn the car bombing, the deadliest attack with explosives in Bogota since 2003.
Protests were held in several cities around the country, with marchers in white waving Colombian flags and chanting slogans like “cowardly killers” and “life is sacred.”
The peace talks had been aimed at ending more than five decades of insurgency by the Marxist-inspired guerrillas.
Colombia has experienced relative calm since the 2016 peace accord signed by then-president Santos and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels.
With the landmark agreement turning the FARC into a political party, the smaller ELN is considered the last active rebel group in the country.
