FARC Says Ready To Exchange
Hostages
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FARC Says Ready
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Bogota - The
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)
said it is ready to make a swap of hostages
for rebel prisoners, the organization
Colombians for Peace said Sunday.
"We are ready for exchanging war prisoners
and not making the dialogue an unsurpassable
obstacle," FARC said in a letter sent to
Colombians for Peace.
Colombians for Peace is a group led by
opposition senator Piedad Cordoba, who
helped broker the release of politicians
Alan Jara and Sigifredo Lopez in February.
"We are analyzing the proposals from senator
Piedad Cordoba leaded to energize the path
to the peace with social justice," the FARC
said.
"We have consulted all our
political-military structures and we can
report that to date only nine are being held
(for ransom) under the FARC's
responsibility," the statement said.
The FARC promised that when conditions are
favorable they would deliver proof of life
for 22 captured soldiers and reveal the
location of the remains of army major
Ernesto Guevara, who died in captivity.
The FARC considered necessary the presence
of the international community in the
dialogue and also asked for "effective
guarantees" for three FARC leaders chosen to
negotiate the swap --Pablo Catatumbo, Carlos
Antonio Lozada and Fabian Ramirez.
The FARC's statement came one day after
President Alvaro Uribe rejected a political
dialogue with the group, accusing it of
launching an offensive to mark the first
anniversary of the death of its founder,
Manuel Marulanda.
The group had demanded demilitarizing an
area in the southeast as a condition for
negotiating a swap of hostages for captured
rebels.
The FARC held many hostages who it
considered "exchangeable" for its members
imprisoned inside and outside Colombia. It
is also estimated that at least 700
civilians are kept as hostages for other
reasons.
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