By: Comandante Nicolás Rodríguez Bautista (Gabino)
To the Colombian people, to the comrades of the National Liberation Army (ELN), I greet you with a fraternal embrace, which carries revolutionary and humanist motivations, on the 61st anniversary of this insurgent feat that we are about to commemorate this July 4.
Continuing today to accompany with our modest efforts the struggles of the people and the nation is worthy of note, for all the challenges we have had to overcome and the sacrifices assumed, to place dignity and commitment on high.
Other sister guerrilla forces that accompanied us on a stretch of the road, abandoned the path of the armed uprising and opted for other paths that we respect, but we differ from it.
It is true that in this more than half a century, there have been important changes in the life of the country, the world and undeniable developments in the life of humanity.
However, in Colombia, despite such changes, the economic, political and social causes that originated the armed uprising and the popular and guerrilla resistance are still in force, so the legitimacy of rebellion as a right of the people is not in question.
The fact that the ELN exists today as an insurgent force, in constant development, maintaining its principles, its program, its guidelines, a defined strategy and a coherent historical thread, reaffirms our points of view in this regard.
After the Social Outbreak of 2021 that made possible the election of a president from the popular sectors and with progressive thinking, several friends called on us to reconsider the continuity of being insurgents, to join forces in the government of change.
Dialogues were established with this government and agreements were made that aimed to find a political solution to the conflict, in order to solve the causes that originated the social and armed conflict in Colombia.
The government did not comply with what was agreed, because it maintains the same formula as the previous ones: demobilization, disarmament and reintegration of the insurgency.
This failed formula is not accepted by the ELN, among other things because at different times it has developed and the guerrillas always lose, the struggle for change is affected, the ruling class wins and violence increases.
The ELN knows that the indispensable changes to overcome the causes that originated the conflict, make it essential to unite, form alliances and coordinate among all of us who fight for it, even if we have differences or are of a different character, that is why in the ranks of the fighters there is no room for exclusion, this is the imposing practice of the ruling class.
All the efforts for the well-being of the people add up to the struggle and we do not underestimate them, however, we reiterate that the essential objective of the popular and revolutionary struggle are the economic, political and social changes that overcome the causes that originated the armed uprising and this commitment we reiterate today from our insurgent character.
Our being internationalist makes us in solidarity with all the peoples and nations of the world, who resist and fight for their liberation, to throw off the imperialist yoke.
The criminal genocide of the Palestinian people makes us more sensitive to our revolutionary anti-imperialist commitment.
Compañeras, compañeros elenos, firmness, loyalty and revolutionary commitment make us honor those who in these 61 years have given their lives with dignity, next to countless men and women of the people.
Today we continue to hold their flags aloft to shout with them: Not one Step Back… Liberation or Death!
Source: https://insurgenciaurbana-eln.net/gabino-a-61-anos-de-esta-gesta-insurgente/