IPS-English Q&A: Colombian ‘Peace Walker' Supports Belligerent Status for Rebels Date: Tue, 29 Jan 2008 14:14:12 -0800 Interview with Gustavo Moncayo CARACAS, Jan 29 (IPS) - The hatred between Colombian guerrilla leaders and President Álvaro Uribe is a major factor hindering the search for an agreement to secure the release of the hostages taken by the insurgents, ”peace walker” Gustavo Moncayo, whose son has spent 10 years in the hands of the insurgents, told IPS. Moncayo said he was in favour of granting belligerent status to the guerrillas if that could contribute to the release of more than 40 hostages, and he advocated creating an international committee to monitor the situation of the captives, starting with their state of health. The activist walked 1,492 kilometres from Bogotá, his departure point on Nov. 19, 2007, to Caracas, where he arrived on Jan. 17, 2008. He was received by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez just when a war of words was escalating between the two governments. As he walked through the Venezuelan countryside and the streets of Caracas, people greeted him, clustering around him, and young people like Carmen Rosales stopped him to have their pictures taken with him. ”He's a man of peace. Mayor Freddy Bernal (who handed him the keys to the city) is right to call him South America's Gandhi,” she said. In an interview with IPS correspondent Humberto Márquez, Moncayo said ”‘I never pursued glory,' as the song goes (lyrics by Spanish poet Antonio Machado, sung by Joan Manuel Serrat), but my life changed when I started walking and everything became more complicated. From being a teacher in a small provincial town, I've turned into a symbol who is recognised everywhere.” Pablo Emilio, Moncayo's eldest son, was a 19-year-old army corporal when he was captured by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) on Dec. 21, 1997. He has been in their hands ever since, and is one of the hostages the FARC wants to exchange for several hundred guerrillas held in Colombian prisons. The teacher has covered nearly 3,000 kilometres in Colombia, France and Venezuela for his cause. Sun-tanned, wearing a T-shirt bearing his son's photograph, jogging pants and sports shoes, he wears chains around his neck and forearms to symbolise the oppression of his loved ones, and uses a staff which was a gift from indigenous people. IPS: After your long marches, do you think your son's freedom is closer at hand? GUSTAVO MONCAYO: We're really looking for the right key to open the great door to this labyrinth. President Hugo Chávez found the key to one door, and obtained ‘proof of life' documents, as well as the freedom of two hostages (Clara Rojas and Consuelo González). But we have to find the key to the great door, where all the rest of the hostages are held, including my son, Pablo Emilio. But yes, I think this effort is having some sort of effect. IPS: Where do you place the responsibility for your son's situation? Which side has been most helpful, and which has thrown up the most obstacles? GM: This is a real hot potato. Both sides have been making efforts and gestures of support, but at the same time they are blocking progress. We are caught in the middle of this game. To make progress, both political and humanitarian will are necessary. The common good should come before sectorial interests. Everything can be achieved without increasing the suffering. But many people, when they gain power, are dazzled by it. They follow a policy they believe is correct, although for the vast majority of people it is not. IPS: In the midst of the political confrontation between Colombia and Venezuela and Presidents Uribe and Chávez, Caracas has proposed that the Colombian guerrillas should be accorded belligerent status, rather than being regarded as terrorists. Do you think this might contribute to the FARC giving some ground on the hostage issue? GM: When organisations like the International Red Cross, which is independent and apolitical, talk about how the belligerent status could contribute to the process of freeing the hostages, I think we need to take a look at the proposal and see how such a status might be applicable. Conferring belligerent status on an armed insurgent group does not mean we are handing over the country to them. Uribe created opportunities for talks with the National Liberation Army (ELN, a smaller guerrilla group) and the (ultra-rightwing) paramilitaries: why not create a third dialogue, with the FARC? It is sad and painful to see that instead of thinking of a positive solution for the people who have been kidnapped, it has become a personal issue, rather than one of principle, between two rival individuals (Uribe and FARC leader Pedro Antonio Marín, better known as ”Manuel Marulanda”) whose lives are marked by hatred or the desire for revenge. These people are also committing abuses, because they are inflicting an emotional crisis on an entire generation by fomenting hatred and conflict. IPS: What will you do, now that this walk is over? GM: We'll see what other activities we'll take up. One possibility is to form a large international team to monitor the fulfilment of human rights laws. IPS: Would that include visits by medical teams to check on the health of the hostages? GM: That is essential. We are in arrears on this. It's unthinkable that our relatives might be dying out there in the jungle, while we discuss technicalities and argue over words. We're talking about lives here, human beings, and it's sad but true that we ourselves, God forbid, may not live to see the day when our loved ones are released. ***** + RIGHTS-COLOMBIA: Walking from Bogota to Caracas for Peace (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40574) + COLOMBIA: ‘Peace Walker' Welcomed by Tens of Thousands (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=38759) + A Nation Torn - More IPS News Coverage on Colombia (http://ipsnews.net/new_focus/colombia/index.asp) (END/IPS/LA HD IP CS BO QA/TRASP-VD-SW/HM/08) = 01300001 ORP001 NNNN