RECONCILIATION COMMISSION CONFIRMS PEACE PROCESS \

41662 2005-09-29 20:31:00 05BOGOTA9257 Embassy Bogota SECRET//NOFORN This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.\ \ 292031Z Sep 05\ S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 009257 \ \ SIPDIS \ \ NOFORN \ \ E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/30/2015 \ TAGS: PGOV PTER SOCI CO ELN ELN FARC SUBJECT: RECONCILIATION COMMISSION CONFIRMS PEACE PROCESS \ WITH GUERRILLAS STALLED \ \ \ Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood; reasons 1.4 \ (b) and (d) \ \ -------------- \ Summary \ -------------- \ \ ¶1. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX discussed the status of the Catholic Church's role in peace \ talks between guerrilla groups and the Colombian government. \ He said he believed both negotiations were on hold ) the ELN \ would not advance during Francisco Galan's parole and the \ FARC consistently had refused all offers to date. He \ commented that the Catholic Church's efforts to serve as \ intermediary had stalled, but it remained committed. \ XXXXXXXXXXXX claimed that imprisoned FARC "ambassador" Rodrigo \ Granda had prostate cancer and was reluctant to seek \ treatment outside of prison because he feared for his life. \ End summary. \ \ -------------- \ ELN's Galan on Parole but Little More \ -------------- \ \ ¶2. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX met Emboffs on September 22 and \ updated the Catholic Church's role in potential GOC talks \ with guerrillas. According to XXXXXXXXXXXX, the Catholic Church \ is committed to peace with the National Liberation Army (ELN) \ but not optimistic that ELN leader Francisco Galan's \ three-month parole will advance talks. Galan's release is a \ good gesture, but he will spend most of his time shuttling \ between Bogota, Medellin and Cali to talk with civil society, \ he noted. XXXXXXXXXXXX said the Catholic Church decided to \ take a low-profile role in the Galan initiative, believing it \ would not amount to much. He added that the Church remained \ frustrated with the ELN in the wake of its attempt to \ negotiate with Galan in July 2004. The ELN kidnapped the \ Bishop of Yopal while a senior Church delegation was visiting \ with Galan in prison. In XXXXXXXXXXXX's view, this underscored \ that either the ELN was not serious about talks, or \ disorganized and unable to control its fighters. The \ Catholic Church had to forgive, said XXXXXXXXXXXX, but it had \ not forgotten the ELN's actions. \ \ -------------- \ Church's Bolo Azul Suggestion Leaked \ -------------- \ \ ¶3. (C) All Catholic Church attempts to date to negotiate a \ humanitarian exchange with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of \ Colombia (FARC) had failed, according to XXXXXXXXXXXX. He \ reported that recently the Church had attempted to select a \ prisoner exchange location that would be amenable to the GOC \ and FARC in Valle del Cauca Department. Valle del Cauca \ Governor Angelino Garzon suggested Bolo Azul Village, and \ XXXXXXXXXXXX had planned to keep the suggestion confidential \ until the Constitutional Court ruled on the legality of the \ reelection law. However, the secret reached ex-President \ Samper, who pushed the idea with the Uribe Administration. \ XXXXXXXXXXXX lamented that the Bolo Azul proposal had become \ "Uribefied," political, and therefore unacceptable to the \ FARC. He hoped that the Church could advance another \ proposal in a less politically charged climate in the future. \ \ ¶4. (S) XXXXXXXXXXXX asked whether Emboffs knew about the state \ of FARC "ambassador" Rodrigo Granda's health. He said the \ Church had discovered Granda had prostate cancer and refused \ medical treatment out of fear that he would be killed. The \ Church has asked the GOC for permission to visit Granda as a \ pastoral duty to assess his health. XXXXXXXXXXXX stressed that \ Granda is much more important than the Colombian Government \ knows and promised to keep the Embassy informed. He said the \ GOC had refused to allow the Church to visit FARC prisoner \ Simon Trinidad last year, stating that it did not want to \ create "a Galan for the FARC" referring to the temporarily \ paroled ELN interlocutor Francisco Galan. Nevertheless, \ XXXXXXXXXXXX was hopeful that Archbishop Castro would be allowed \ to visit Granda since he was incarcerated in Castro's \ pastoral district. \ \ -------------- \ European Trip Interesting but not Useful \ -------------- \ \ ¶5. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX reported that his recent trip to Geneva, the \ Netherlands and Spain had been interesting but had not \ advanced the peace process. He spoke with several European \ officials, UN representatives, and unofficial interlocutors \ who agreed that the GOC's peace process with guerrilla groups \ had stalled. He was impressed by the Europeans' interest in \ the Colombia peace process, but commented that one unofficial \ Swiss representative (Jean Paul Gontard) had offered the FARC \ different incentives to begin a humanitarian exchange and \ received nothing for his efforts. "They (the FARC) have been \ stingy with him," said XXXXXXXXXXXX. \ WOOD \