IPS-English COLOMBIA: Newfound Hope on Sixth Anniversary of Ingrid's Kidnapping
 
Date: Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:41:07 -0800

 
Constanza Vieira

BOGOTA, Feb 22   (IPS)  - The sensation on the sixth anniversary
of the kidnapping of former Colombian presidential candidate Ingrid
Betancourt by the FARC guerrillas differs significantly from the utter
pessimism of previous years. ”Today there is hope,” her husband Juan
Carlos Lecompte told IPS.



Betancourt, who holds dual French-Colombian nationality, was taken
captive on Feb. 23, 2002 by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia) rebels, who control an estimated 40 percent of the national
territory, mainly in rural, sparsely populated areas.

”In past years, nothing was happening. There was total uncertainty,”
said Lecompte. ”But the situation is no longer frozen, because the
problem has been internationalised.”

This anniversary is marked by a tense sense of expectation because
the government announced that it had determined the location of four
hostages about to be released by the FARC.

The insurgent group promised to release the four former lawmakers
within the next few days or weeks as a result of Venezuelan President
Hugo Chávez's efforts to broker an exchange of hostages for imprisoned
FARC guerrillas.

Lecompte and his mother-in-law, Yolanda Pulecio, as well as the families
of 15 of the other hostages held by the FARC, met Thursday with French
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who visited Venezuela and Colombia
this week.

The FARC are holding roughly 45 hostages, including legislators,
police officers, soldiers and three U.S. military contractors who
were working for Plan Colombia, a U.S.-financed counterinsurgency
and anti-drug strategy. The rebel group's aim is to swap them for
around 400 or 500 guerrillas who are in prison.

”I am grateful to the French government for staying by our side and
supporting us,” said Lecompte. ”Without them, we would truly be on
our own.”

France and Switzerland head a group of countries that are backing
the search for an agreement on a hostages-for-prisoners exchange.

After meeting with rightwing Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, Kouchner
said they discussed the question of a possible attempted rescue by
force and other military pressure tactics, to which Uribe has given
higher priority than to negotiations.

The French minister said he recommended that Uribe ”hold himself
back, and he understood it very well.”

In previous incidents, the FARC has fulfilled its standing orders
to kill the hostages if the military start to close in.

Kouchner told the press that ”humanitarian agreements are possible,
and we are working hard to achieve that. We are working with the Colombian
government” to secure continued releases.

”There is great urgency,” said Kouchner, due to the state of health
of several of the hostages, including Betancourt herself, who was
seen to be extremely gaunt and dejected-looking in a photo provided
by the FARC in November.

The photo was one of the documents proving that a number of hostages
were still alive, which were to be handed over to Chávez but were
intercepted by the government instead.

Uribe rejected Kouchner's suggestion that Venezuela form part of
the new group of observer countries that Brazil and France are setting
up.

In mid-August, the Colombian president had accepted a proposal for
Chávez to help broker hostage talks with the rebels. However, he abruptly
put an end to the Venezuelan leader's efforts on Nov. 21, triggering
a serious diplomatic crisis between the two neighbouring countries.

Nevertheless, Chávez achieved the unilateral release of former politicians
Consuelo González and Clara Rojas on Jan. 10, as well as a promise
by the FARC to free former lawmakers Gloria Polanco, Luis Eladio Pérez
and Orlando Beltrán, and possibly Jorge Eduardo Gechem. 

However, that operation may now be at risk, since the military located
the hostages.

”The efforts of (Colombian) Senator Piedad Córdoba and President
Hugo Chávez have been fundamental,” said Lecompte, expressing a sentiment
that is shared by the rest of the hostages' families, despite the
heavily polarised views in Colombia towards the two former mediators.

Also essential is ”the dedication and commitment that France has
shown us from the very start. And now, (President Nicolas) Sarkozy
has given an extra boost. Our main allies are France and Venezuela,”
said Betancourt's husband.

”All of the families, without exception, including the mothers of
the soldiers and police officers, have been working hard to bring
visibility to this dramatic situation, and obtain help and solidarity
around the world. That is what our lives are now dedicated to,” said
Lecompte, who flew in to Colombia from Spain on Tuesday and will visit
Chile in March.

When he took office in May 2007, the French president said that securing
Betancourt's release was one of his top priorities.

The tragic death of 11 hostages was reported in late June. They were
regional lawmakers who were shot to death in as yet unclarified circumstances.


According to the FARC, the hostages were killed in ”crossfire” with
a military force that the guerrillas did not identify.

The tragedy shook public opinion around the world, and in Colombia
as well, where the public had appeared to become largely immune to
the plight of the hostages after decades of civil war. The new level
of concern was demonstrated on Jul. 5 and Feb. 4, when Colombians
held massive street marches against kidnapping and against the FARC.

”There are many people who have heeded our call, including the president
of Argentina (Cristina Fernández) and former (Argentine president)
Néstor Kirchner. That has been the result of the efforts of all of
the families,” said Lecompte.

On the other hand, ”I don't see any great changes in the Colombian
government. They have dug in their heels and refuse to yield an inch.
That is what has made this drama drag on and on,” with some soldier
hostages spending 10 years in captivity in FARC jungle camps.

”We are in favour of a humanitarian agreement, to which France is
also committed,” he said, adding that French officials had come to
Colombia to make it clear that the hostage negotiations are a priority
for the Sarkozy administration.

”If Ingrid is freed in the next few months, they (the French government)
will continue working for a humanitarian accord, because that is the
best way to secure the release of all of the captives.”

He also said that he hoped Uribe will not even think about attempting
a military rescue of the hostages who are already in the process of
being released.


*****
+ COLOMBIA: Hostages Handed Over by Rebels (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40746)
+ COLOMBIA: Hostages' Release, Seen from the Other Side (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40756)
+ COLOMBIA: Hostages Release Goes Far Beyond Personal Ordeal (http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40630)
+ COLOMBIA: Jail the Messenger (http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40392)
+ A Nation Torn - More IPS News on Colombia (http://www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/colombia/index.asp)


(END/IPS/LA IP HD CS BO/TRASP-SW/CV/DM/08)


 
= 02230318 ORP005
NNNN