Colombian Hostages'
Families Reject Proposal
to Fence Off Rebel-Held
Areas
Families of hostages
held by Colombian rebels
rejected Monday a
proposal by President
Alvaro Uribe to fence
off the areas where
guerrillas operate so
that an international
rescue operation can
take place.
Uribe said earlier that
he considered building
fences around areas
where guerillas hold
hostages so that he
could ask other
countries to mediate a
swap of government-held
fighters for hostages
held by the nation's
largest guerilla force,
the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The announcement aroused
great concern among
family members of the
hostages as some
hostages had died during
previous rescue attempts
of the government.
Eleven former Colombian
parliamentarians, who
were being held hostage
by the FARC last June,
have died in captivity.
The FARC claimed that
the deputies had died
when government forces
made a rescue attempt,
but the government said
that the rebels had
executed their
prisoners.
Uribe, who visited
France, Spain and
Switzerland last week,
said that he had asked
the three nations to
mediate with the FARC
for the release of the
hostages.
In France, the
International Federation
of Ingrid Betancourt
Committees, which
supports former
presidential candidate
Betancourt, has called
on French President
Nicolas Sarkozy to
oppose Uribe's proposal
to isolate guerillas as
France has been
campaigning for the
release of Betancourt,
who has been held by the
FARC since February 2002
when she was kidnapped
in Caqueta department in
southern Colombia.
According to the
Colombian government, 44
FARC hostages, mostly
foreigners and
policemen, are
considered
"interchangeable" due to
their political status,
while at least 700
people are held hostage
for extortion. |
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