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Colombia to set up int'l
commission to free hostages
Colombia will set up an
international commission charged
with the task to free hostages
taken by the country's largest
guerilla group, the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia (FARC), said Colombian
president Alvaro Uribe on
Sunday.
Colombia's peace commissioner,
Luis Carlos Restrepo, was
appointed to set up the
commission and would work with
the commission to "bring forward
a humanitarian deal to free the
hostages in the hands of the
FARC," said Uribe in a
statement.
The statement came days after
the country's communist weekly
Voz (The Voice) published
reports about possible attempts
to free the hostages by military
means.
The FARC now holds 59 hostages,
including politicians,
businesspeople, police and three
United States citizens. Former
presidential candidate, Ingrid
Betancourt, was one of the most
famous among them. Some of the
hostages have been held for as
longas seven years.
The mother of Betancourt made a
public appeal on Sunday, calling
on the president not to attempt
a military rescue of hostages.
The FARC wants to exchange their
hostages for 500 jailed
guerillas. The negotiations
between the guerillas and the
government have failed to
produce any result during the
last three years.
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