Wednesday 31 October 2012

Colombia's other rebel force proposes ceasefire

Colombian leftist rebels of the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional, ELN) proposed a bilateral ceasefire with the government on 30 October as a first step toward possible peace, and echoing the peace conversations begun between the state and the larger Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The ELN recalled this was not the first time it had sought a ceasefire or peace conversations with the state, Europa Press reported, citing Colombia's Caracol Radio. The state has refused a ceasefire while talking to the FARC. The communiqué was read out at a seminar on protecting civilians in Colombia's conflicts, organized by the NGO Geneva Call and backed by the UN. It expressed hope for an eventual peace allowing "truth to flourish" in Colombia and the "pains" of Colombians to be "treated with dignity," but also urged an eventual "cleansing" or purging of local and regional authorities imposed by unspecified "narcotic and paramilitary pressures and corruption." The guerrilla stated that dialogue engaged within a ceasefire would create greater trust and "relieve" the suffering of civilians in conflict zones, EFE reported. The ELN was formed in 1964 and is run by a five-member Central Command including its supreme leader, currently Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista or Gabino.

Ten reported killed around Mexico

Gunmen shot dead on 30 October the district Public Security or police chief of San Martín de Hidalgo in the western state of Jalisco, a week after a similar attack on a local police chief, Proceso reported. Eight assassins reportedly arrived in a Dodge truck at seven in the morning and forcibly entered the home of Casimiro Zárate Guerrero; the weekly reported an attack on 22 October on the police chief of Guadalupe, a nearby district within the Valles zone west of the city of Guadalajara. He and two colleagues were shot dead in that attack by individuals riding four "luxury" estate cars, presumaly members of a drug cartel. Also on 30 October, marines shot dead five suspected kidnappers in the Cosamaloapan district of the the east-coast state of Veracruz, as they sought to rescue a hostage, Proceso reported. A gun battle erupted when marines entered the roadside Villa Paraíso hotel looking for the son of a local notary reportedly held there; the kidnappers threw hand grenades at them. The judiciary in the neighbouring state of Tabasco separately presented to media on 30 October three suspected kidnappers arrested on 26 October and presumed members of a gang active in the states of Tabasco and Chiapas, Proceso reported. Four people were also reported shot dead that day: three men in Tonalá next to Guadalajara and a Honduran migrant in the state of Veracruz, Proceso reported.