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Colombian rebels say still open
to talks on prisoner swap
Colombian rebels holding a
former presidential candidate
hostage said on Friday that they
were still open to a deal for
her release.
In a statement issued late
Friday, Ivan Marquez, a member
of the supreme command of the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC), repeated the
rebels' demand for the
government to withdraw troops
from two remote towns in
southwest Colombia before talks
could begin on exchanging jailed
rebels for Ingrid Betancourt and
60 key hostages.
"The liberation of Ingrid
Betancourt and all the prisoners
held by both sides could already
have been part of history, if
(President Alvaro Uribe) had
agreed to demilitarize the
municipalities of Florida and
Pradera," said the statement.
"In spite of everything, the
prisoner exchange is still open
for the FARC," it added.
Betancourt, 45, was an
independent presidential
candidate when she and her vice
presidential hopeful, Carla
Rojas, were seized on Feb. 23,
2002, while traveling in remote
Caqueta province.
Earlier, Uribe's office said in
a statement that his government
was ready for direct contact
with the rebel group.
The FARC, the largest Colombian
guerrilla group, has been
fighting the government since
the mid-1960s. The group is
reported to have some 20,000
fighters.
Uribe, who was re-elected last
year, promised to reduce the
nation's violence during his
election campaign.
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