[NYTr] Colombia: FARC Hostage Release Delayed Date: Tue, 25 Dec 2007 17:57:33 -0600 (CST) Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit al Jazeera - Dec 25, 2007 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/628D8F36-AD49-42D0-A0E3-2E5D7E293A39.htm Farc hostage release delayed The promised release of three hostages by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) will not take place before Christmas, a Colombian legislator said. Senator Piedad Cordoba, a mediator in the hostage crisis, on Monday, said: "They will not be freed before Christmas. They have not appeared and for the moment there is nothing." However, speaking to AFP news agency, she said that the release of the three is "certain and will happen." Farc, a self-proclaimed communist revolutionary group, said a week ago they would free three hostages: Clara Rojas, her son Emmanuel, who was born in captivity from her relationship with a Farc fighter, and Consuelo Gonzalez de Perdomo, a Colombia legislator. Rojas has been a captive since 2002, when she was seized along with French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt as she was campaigning for president. Perdomo was kidnapped in 2001. Chavez mediation According to a Farc statement, the three are to be released to Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's president, or someone he designates. They are among 45 prominent hostages Farc wants to swap with the Colombian government for its about 500 imprisoned members. As hopes that the hostage release would take place in time for Christmas dimmed, some of their relatives planned delayed celebrations. Patricia Perdomo, Gonzalez' daughter, said: "This is not Christmas Eve for my family. Our Christmas Eve will be the day we're reunited ... We're hoping my mom will be with us by Christmas. Betancourt's husband Juan Carlos Lecompte hoped his wife could see her two children for Christmas in photographs. He dropped 22,000 of them from a small plane he rented and flew on the weekend over a jungle near Brazil, where she's thought to be held. Each photo was signed "for Ingrid from Juan Carlos". Betancourt turns 46 on Christmas Day. Alvaro Uribe, the Colombian president, on Monday wished Christmas greetings to the three yet-to-be-freed hostages and all other captives held by Farc. "I want this Christmas greeting to reach the hostages, along with the hope they will soon be released," Uribe said in a speech to a military unit in northern Magdalena department. "On this Christmas, I send my greetings to the families of the 750 people Farc has kidnapped over the past 10 years." Source: Agencies *** al Jazeera - Dec 24, 2007 http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/628D8F36-AD49-42D0-A0E3-2E5D7E293A39.htm Gifts dropped for Colombia hostage By Monica Villamizar in Bogota The husband of Ingrid Betancourt, a hostage held by left-wing rebels in Colombia for the past six years, has thrown thousands of photographs of her children from an aircraft for her birthday. Juan Carlos Lecompte dropped the photos from 5,000ft above the Amazon jungle as a gift to his wife, fulfilling a three-year promise. Lecompte told Al Jazeera: "Ingrid's birthday is December 25. So I hope that she can receive these pictures of her kids as a present from me." Betancourt is thought to be held in the jungle by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc). It was an emotional and personal moment for Lecompte, away from the international campaign, backed by world leaders, for his wife's release. Three weeks ago the Colombian government gave him a recent video and letter from Betancourt dated October 2007, in which she said that her life is a living hell. When Betancourt was abducted, her daughter Melanie was 16 and her son, Lorenzo, 13. Aircraft tracked Lecompte's flight on a small, rented aircraft was dangerous. Small aeroplanes have often been shot down by fighters and the Colombian army sometimes forces unauthorised flights to land. Lecompte's aircraft was tracked by the Colombian air force. For 15 minutes a fighter jet circled the aircraft, risking the safety of those on board, including an Al Jazeera TV crew. Al Jazeera contacted the air force but no explanation was given for its actions. Lecompte had been given rough directions to where Betancourt might be held by Jhon Frank Pinchao, police officer. Pinchao lived in the same Farc camp as Betancourt and managed to escape after eight years by breaking the chains around his neck at night and fleeing. Radio message Pinchao told Al Jazeera: "The only means for a hostage to have contact with the outside world is the radio messages give us the courage to keep on living. We only got to see a newspaper once a year." Nevertheless, Betancourt's family will keep trying to communicate with her in any way possible, through newspapers and the radio. However, they say it is as frustrating as throwing a bottle into the ocean, because they will never know if the messages ever reach her. Betancourt, who was born in Bogota but holds French nationality, was kidnapped when campaigning for the Colombian presidency in an area with a high Farc presence. Farc is holding her in the hope of striking a hostage-for-prisoner exchange with the Colombian government. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies * ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us Our main website: http://www.blythe.org List Archives: http://blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/ Subscribe: http://blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr =================================================================