Latin America
The Colombian Church’s National Reconciliation Commission (CCN) met in Bogota yesterday, in the presence of the president of the Colombian Bishops’ Conference Mgr. Luis Augusto Castro Quiroga, following the victory of the “no vote” in the referendum on the peace agreement between the Government and the FARC. At the end of the meeting, the Commission issued a statement, signed by its secretary Fr. Darío Echeverri Gonzales, calling on “the national Government, all political, social and economic actors, and the FARC to promptly reach a solution that does not ignore what has already been achieved and is based on a realistic agenda which can facilitate the resolution of the crisis”. In particular, the Commission calls on the FARC to “reflect on what has happened” and exhorts the organisation to “build bridges towards the national reality, with a view to finding a way out of the situation that has been created”. Likewise, it urges President Santos and the Government to maintain the bilateral ceasefire so as to guarantee the safety of the population. The Commission also invites the international community to continue to provide its political and economic support until an agreement is reached and implemented. Finally, an appeal is made to the armed group ELN to enter formal negotiations as soon as possible.
