This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BOGOTA 011926 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/27/2105 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER CO ELN ELN
SUBJECT: GOC-ELN TALKS: CIVIL SOCIETY GUARANTOR PROVIDES 
READOUT 
 
REF: A. BOGOTA 11862 
     ¶B. BOGOTA 11611 
     ¶C. BOGOTA 11461 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood 
Reason: 1.4 (b,d) 
 
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Summary 
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¶1.  (C) One of the five civil society guarantors for the 
GOC-ELN talks, Moritz Akerman, said December 26 the ELN 
wanted to end its insurgency and run candidates for mayoral 
offices in 2007.  The ELN would like to participate in the 
2006 Congressional and presidential polls but only by 
"consulting" with candidates on policy issues.  It is 
prepared to enter into a cease-fire by March and would be 
prepared to disarm prior to running candidates in 2007.  In 
Akerman's view, the ELN has not given much thought to the 
terms of its "punishment" for its criminal activity.  The ELN 
seemed more organized than the GOC in Havana and was prepared 
to move to substantive discussions, but the GOC was more 
cautious.  Akerman said the GOC prefers to deal directly with 
the ELN and avoid the role of mediators.  The guarantors are 
divided, with two of them serving as "the ELN's Foreign 
Ministry," Akerman said.  According to Akerman, the ELN 
expects the FARC to attack its leadership, in part to extract 
revenge for a recent ELN killing of a regional FARC leader, 
and in part to warn the ELN not to proceed too far down the 
negotiating path with the GOC.  The talks resume on or about 
January 21 in Havana.  End summary. 
 
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What Does the ELN Want? 
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¶2.  (C) Akerman told D/Polcouns December 26 the ELN wants to 
get involved in political activity as soon as possible, and 
would like to run candidates for election in 2007 mayoral 
races.  Akerman understands that ELN military commander 
Antonio Garcia wants to be able to "consult" openly on policy 
issues with leftist candidates for Congress and the 
presidency in 2006.  According to Akerman, the ELN is 
prepared to agree to a cease-fire, perhaps as early as March. 
 Akerman said the ELN is concerned about not being 
"humiliated" and would be more likely to accept a cease-fire 
if it could be presented as a demand of civil society rather 
than as a GOC negotiating term.  The ELN is prepared to 
disarm before it runs candidates for election in 2007, he 
said.  In Akerman's view, the ELN has not considered the 
price it is willing to pay for being allowed to get involved 
in democratic politics.  He said the ELN would be unlikely to 
accept "Justice and Peace law" terms and would press for 
amnesty and pardon.  Akerman reported that former President 
Cesar Gaviria is talking directly with ELN spokesperson and 
negotiator Francisco Galan. 
 
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Antonio Garcia and Luis Carlos Restrepo 
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¶3.  (C) Akerman said Garcia was "flexible" and "measured" in 
Havana, a significant contrast to previous occasions Akerman 
has seen him, where Garcia was "arrogant" and "stubborn." 
Akerman said Garcia seemed very concerned with preserving the 
dialogue with the GOC.  At one point, Garcia grew frustrated 
with Restrepo's apparently narrow negotiating room and said 
he would leave Cuba and let Restrepo negotiate with Galan, 
referring any agreements to Garcia and Uribe for approval, 
but later backed down.  Garcia said, however, that he hoped 
Restrepo would be in a stronger negotiating position when 
talks resumed. 
 
¶4.  (C) Akerman said the guarantors and "accompanying 
countries" (Spain, Norway and Switzerland) worked hard to 
build a positive relationship between Garcia and Restrepo in 
the days preceding the December 16 formal inauguration of the 
talks (ref C).  Garcia and Restrepo met alone several times 
for 30 minute coffees in the morning, and later met, together 
with their associates, in a protocol house the Cubans 
provided to the Government of Colombia. 
 
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Guarantors, Group of Three Countries Marginalized 
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¶5.  (C) Akerman reported that the guarantors and 
representatives from Spain, Norway and Switzerland were 
"marginalized" during the talks, primarily because the GOC 
wanted to deal directly with the ELN.  According to Akerman, 
GOC Ambassador to Cuba, Fernando Londono, disagrees with the 
apparent decision to keep the guarantors away from the formal 
talks but said, referring to Restrepo, "he's in charge, not 
me."  Akerman did not complain about the "marginalization" 
but said if the talks continue there would likely be a need 
for some kind of mediation assistance, whether from the 
guarantors, the group of three countries, or some other 
source.  Akerman said Spain was more inclined to follow the 
GOC lead, whereas Norway and Switzerland would prefer to play 
a more active role. 
 
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Talks Cordial, ELN Seemed More Organized 
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¶6.  (C) Akerman said the guarantors and representatives from 
Spain, Norway and Switzerland were not present during the 
formal talks but met regularly with the participants before 
and after the sessions; based on those side meetings, Akerman 
characterized the formal talks as cordial.  He said "people 
just talked and talked," which he said was a positive 
development.  At the conclusion of the talks December 21, the 
ELN presented the GOC with a draft communique that said the 
exploratory phase had been successful and the talks would now 
move to the "pre-negotiation" phase late January.  According 
to Akerman, the GOC rejected the text and said it wanted to 
continue with "exploratory" talks when discussions resumed. 
(Akerman said he expects to get the ELN text from Galan and 
will provide it to the Embassy.)  In Akerman's view, the ELN 
seemed more organized than the GOC, in that it was prepared 
to move forward with concrete proposals.  By contrast, the 
GOC was somewhat surprised by the ELN's approach and needed 
more time to analyze its next move.  Akerman said the GOC 
might be concerned that moving to substantive ELN peace talks 
in the middle of 2006 Congressional and presidential 
electoral campaigns would be too risky.  He said if the talks 
failed, the GOC could be accused of failing to seize an 
opportunity, whereas if they succeeded the GOC could be faced 
with more loud and articulate leftist voices in the middle of 
the campaigns. 
 
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Talks Resume in Havana Late January 
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¶7.  (C) Akerman said the talks are expected to resume in 
Havana around January 21.  The GOC and ELN seemed satisfied 
with the Havana venue, the former because Castro stays out of 
developments and allows the GOC to control matters, the 
latter because its members are not subject to being arrested, 
as they could be if the talks took place in Europe.  In 
Akerman's view, the talks should be moved from Cuba because 
of the "stifling" political atmosphere on the island.  The 
ELN would benefit from being exposed to a "normal" democratic 
environment. 
 
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Cubans Unpleasant, Akerman Says, but Garcia Marquez Helpful 
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¶8.  (C) Akerman characterized the Cuban Communist Party 
officials who met the guarantors at the Havana airport as 
unpleasant and brusque.  He said they told the guarantors 
upon their arrival, "Welcome to Cuba.  If any of you or any 
representative from an 'accompanying country' meets with even 
one dissident while you are here, this entire process will be 
called off and you will all be sent home."  He said such 
officials continued with similar "rude" comments from time to 
time. 
 
¶9.  (C) By contrast, Akerman said Colombian novelist and 
Fidel Castro friend Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who maintains a 
residence in Havana, was helpful during the talks.  Garcia 
Marquez apparently has developed a close relationship with 
ELN military commander Garcia, to the extent of organizing 
and paying for Garcia's operation in Cuba on three herniated 
discs about seven years ago and serving as a sounding board 
for Garcia's poetry efforts.  (Akerman said Garcia Marquez 
insisted several times that Akerman join him in Cuba, for at 
least part of the year.  Garcia Marquez told Akerman that he 
was "alone" in Havana and that Castro "was always too busy to 
see me.") 
 
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Guarantors Divided 
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¶10.  (C) In the face of Cuban hostility, Akerman said the 
guarantors were divided.  He characterized two of the five 
guarantors (Alejo Vargas and Daniel Garcia-Pena) as 
"basically the ELN's Foreign Ministry."  In Akerman's view, 
such divisions can be managed at the moment but could become 
more significant as the process unfolds. 
 
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FARC Attack on ELN Expected 
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¶11.  (C) Akerman said the ELN is expecting a FARC attack in 
the Catatumbo region, the site of the ELN's leadership.  He 
said the attack would be related in part to the recent ELN 
killing of Arauca FARC leader "El Che" (ref A) and in part to 
send a signal to the ELN that its talks with the GOC should 
not progress much further. 
 
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Comment 
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¶12.  (C) We will continue to support the ELN process.  It is 
understandable that, after the ELN walked away from the last 
three peace attempts, the GOC is wary, especially of being 
entrapped at election time.  Restrepo has told us he is 
dubious about ELN intentions, but willing to move forward. 
That the ELN is in a hurry, refuses to accept the Justice and 
Peace Law, and wants to "consult" with candidates in next 
year's elections creates a very difficult dynamic, at a time 
when a lot of other things are going on.  We can expect civil 
society guarantors and the three European facilitators to 
push for rapid GOC movement, whether merited by ELN positions 
or not.  In addition, any concessions given to the ELN will 
have to be given to the paramilitaries.  Stay tuned. 
WOOD