COLOMBIA:
Ex-Hostages Call for
Political Solution to
Conflict
By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, (IPS) - The
solution to Colombia’s
armed conflict must be a
political one, and the
government should "demilitarise"
an area in order to
negotiate a humanitarian
swap of hostages held by
the FARC guerrillas for
imprisoned insurgents,
the four hostages who
were released this week
said in the Venezuelan
capital.
That view is shared by
the highest profile
hostage held by the
rebels, former
presidential candidate
Ingrid Betancourt, who
is in extremely poor
health, said Luis Eladio
Pérez at a press
conference in which he
was accompanied by
Gloria Polanco, Jorge
Géchem and Orlando
Beltrán.
The four former
Colombian legislators
were handed over
Wednesday by the FARC
(Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia) to
envoys sent into the
jungle on helicopters by
Venezuelan President
Hugo Chávez, who
received them as guests
in Caracas.
"We want to urge the
different parties to
understand that the
solution must be
political," said Pérez.
"If President Álvaro
Uribe stubbornly insists
on military rescue
attempts, what he is
going to receive are 30
or 40 corpses, because
that would lead to a
massacre, as ordered by
the FARC secretariat
(high command) in case
of an absurd attack in
one of those remote
swampy jungle areas."
"We need a political
solution to the conflict
in Colombia, and a first
ray of hope has emerged
with the participation
of President Chávez and
(Colombian Liberal
Party) Senator Piedad
Córdoba," said former
senator Géchem.
Polanco, who drew tears
from reporters talking
about their experiences
in captivity, said that
if the municipalities of
Pradera and Florida are
not demilitarised, "our
companions (some 40
remaining hostages,
including politicians,
members of the military
and police, and three
U.S. military
contractors) could die.
Life must be valued more
than a few kilometres of
land."
The FARC are demanding
that the military be
withdrawn from those two
municipalities in
southwestern Colombia
for 45 days in order to
negotiate a
hostage-for-prisoner
exchange in that area,
which would be under the
control of the
insurgents and
international observers.
The guerrillas have been
holding hostages, some
for over a decade, with
the aim of trading them
for around 500 rebels
held in prisons in
Colombia.
Pérez said he and his
fellow former hostages
would present a proposal
to Presidents Uribe,
Chávez and Nicolás
Sarkozy of France -- who
said he is willing to
personally fly in and
pick up Betancourt, a
dual French-Colombian
citizen, if necessary --
but added that "we must
not go public with it
until we present it to
them."
Chávez, for his part,
has proposed "setting up
a group of friendly
countries along the
lines of the Contadora
group (which played a
key role in bringing
peace to Central America
two decades ago) to
achieve a humanitarian
exchange. It could
immediately be set up to
receive envoys sent by (FARC
chief Manuel) Marulanda
and the government, to
discuss the hostages’
release."
But Colombian Interior
Minister Carlos Holguín
reiterated Bogotá’s
position that "a
demilitarised zone is
not possible," although
he said the Uribe
administration would
accept "a meeting area
wherever the FARC would
like, in an uninhabited
area free of the
presence of both them
and the army."
Uribe’s argument is that
a demilitarised zone
created in the southern
Colombian municipality
of San Vicente del
Caguán for the 1999-2002
peace talks between the
FARC and the government
of Andrés Pastrana
(1998-2002) not only
failed to produce
results but also allowed
the guerrillas to
resupply and strengthen
themselves, while
continuing their
practice of taking
hostages.
Pérez challenged Uribe
"to demonstrate the
success of his
democratic security
policy by demilitarising
the municipalities of
Pradera and Florida and
sending the armed forces
in to recuperate the
area after 45 days."
He said the guerrilla
columns that had been
holding him for nearly
seven years took him
through areas that had
been "recuperated by" or
were "under the control
of" military and police
units, and added that he
was even held in
northern Ecuador on some
occasions, although he
did not believe he was
ever in Venezuela.
In a brief conversation
with IPS, Pérez said
that "if Uribe is afraid
that the
demilitarisation of a
very small part of
Colombian territory for
just a few days would
turn it into an
epicentre of a new wave
of kidnappings, that
means his democratic
security policy is not
as strong as he wants
Colombians to think."
"There have already been
too many deaths" showing
that his policy isn't
working, said Pérez. "Uribe
must assume
responsibility and
understand that the
means can condition the
ends, and that force is
not the best way to
achieve peace."
Beltrán said "the FARC
have begun to understand
that the abominable
method of kidnapping is
not the solution," and
added that "one of the
points of a humanitarian
accord would be for the
FARC to agree to stop
using hostage-taking as
a political tool."
Pérez described the FARC
as "a political and
military force that uses
terrorist practices,
including
hostage-taking." But he
did not accept the "narcoguerrilla"
label that has been
attached to them.
"I don't believe that
they are directly ‘narcoguerrillas’,
although they are
involved in the drug
trafficking business,
because they charge a
commission when drug
trafficking operations
are carried out in the
areas where they
operate," Pérez told IPS.
The main concern shared
by all four of the
hostages freed this week
is Betancourt, who is in
an "extremely difficult"
situation, both
physically and
emotionally, although
Beltrán said "we will
fight just as hard for
the release of all of
them, because we do not
believe there are first,
second and third-class
hostages."
"I in particular owe my
life to Ingrid," said
Pérez. "When I had a
heart attack and fell
into a diabetic coma in
the jungle, she was the
one who helped me, from
washing my clothes to
supporting me on the
long walks. I ask God to
allow me to spend my
last days with my family
and to repay Betancourt
for her support."
The four former hostages
announced that they
would take part in the
Mar. 6 demonstration
against the violence and
the ultra-right
paramilitary militias
and in favour of peace
and a humanitarian
exchange that a number
of organisations are
organising in Colombia,
after the Feb. 4
worldwide protest held
under the theme "No More
FARC".
Pérez said "there is
growing awareness in
Colombian society
against the violence.
The FARC are one form of
violence. That is what
is good about those
marches."
After six years in
captivity in the jungle,
the four former
lawmakers are currently
undergoing medical exams
in Caracas, although
they all want to return
home to Colombia as soon
as possible.
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