COLOMBIA:
France Calls for Hostage Swap
Constanza Vieira

BOGOTA, (IPS) - At 5:08 AM Thursday, Colombian journalist Herbin Hoyos announced on the Caracol Radio station that he had French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy on the line.

"On this sad day, the fourth anniversary of the kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt and Clara Rojas, I would like to address them and all of the victims of kidnapping in Colombia," Douste-Blazy read out slowly in Spanish, a language he does not actually speak, in a seven-minute message broadcast by the station.

"I am speaking to you in my own name, in the name of the French authorities, and in the name of all of my compatriots. We are moved by your tragedy - a tragedy that we are all following, with the strong hope of a prompt, happy ending," he added.

Former presidential candidate Betancourt, who holds both French and Colombian citizenship, and Rojas, her former vice-presidential running mate, were taken hostage by the FARC guerrillas on Feb. 23, 2002, just 64 hours after the government broke off peace talks that had gone on for three years in the village of San Vicente del Caguán.

A large area around San Vicente del Caguán, in the southern department of Caquetá, had been demilitarised for the peace talks, and over the years, many public figures had visited to meet with the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels.

Although the talks had stalled and the security situation in the demilitarised zone was swiftly deteriorating, Betancourt insisted on visiting San Vicente del Caguán, where a representative of her Verde Oxígeno (Oxygen Green) party had been elected mayor - the party’s only mayor - and where the local residents were terrified by the new outbreak of fighting.

After Betancourt and Rojas were refused transport on a military helicopter heading to the village where the peace talks had been taking place, they ignored the government's warnings and decided to take the risky journey by road, without a military escort. But the official vehicle in which they were driving was intercepted by the FARC, and they were kidnapped.

Besides Betancourt and Rojas, the FARC, which first took up arms in 1964, is holding 22 other politicians, 34 members of the Colombian military and police, and three U.S. military contractors as hostages, with the aim of eventually swapping them for around 500 imprisoned insurgents.

Last week, the number of military and police hostages dropped to 33 when the FARC reported the death of police Major Julián Guevara, who had been in captivity since November 1998. The news triggered a wave of panic and indignation among the hostages’ families, who are demanding that the guerrillas turn his body over to his relatives.

"My message is one of solidarity" especially "with our fellow countrywoman Ingrid Betancourt, whose courage and dedication have generated admiration. We are with you, and we are making constant efforts for the release of you and the rest of the hostages. For me it is a priority. We are working towards that goal on a daily basis," said the French minister.

In June 2001, then president Andrés Pastrana (1998-2002) released 14 insurgents from prison in exchange for 250 soldiers and police. But the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington gave rise to a "war on terrorism" that both Pastrana and his successor, right-wing President Álvaro Uribe, took up as their own within Colombia. Since then, any efforts towards a new "humanitarian exchange" have ground to a halt.

Last year, France, Spain and Switzerland offered to mediate in eventual negotiations for the release of FARC hostages.

"I visited Bogotá on Jan. 26 to talk to the highest-level Colombian authorities. I took advantage of the visit to personally meet Ingrid's family and the families of other hostages," the French minister said in his radio message.

The aim of the three European countries is to "propose the start of some kind of dialogue between the Colombian government and the FARC in a small village in Colombia, to move towards negotiations on a humanitarian accord," he added.

"The Colombian government accepted the proposal. President Uribe himself confirmed that to me when he received me in his office. I am hoping the FARC, who have always declared themselves in favour of a humanitarian accord, understand that this proposal does not include any tricks," said Douste-Blazy.

Hoyos has directed the radio programme "Las Voces del Secuestro" (Voices of the Kidnapped) for the past 12 years, every Saturday night from midnight to 5:00 AM - the only time of the day that the broadcast can be heard clearly in the depths of the jungle, where the hostages are held.

"The (French) minister decided, as a personal thing, to send the message to the hostages in Colombia through 'Las Voces del Secuestro', a programme that he knows they listen to religiously," Hoyos told IPS.

During the programme, relatives and friends send messages to their loved ones in the jungle, updating them on developments on the home front and on the efforts being made towards their release, to help keep their spirits up.

The number of FARC kidnapping victims varies depending on the source and the specific circumstances. Today, when the issue is attracting a great deal of international attention because of Betancourt, the number of hostages and people kidnapped for ransom is placed by the government at 5,000. Two years ago, the official total was 3,000.

But "Las Voces del Secuestro" keeps its own tally. "According to our database, the accumulated total since 1994 is 4,200," including the hostages held for an eventual swap and those taken for ransom.

A total of 30,000 people have gone missing over the past 12 years. But "the number of forced disappearances, a crime that involves direct or indirect participation by government agents, totals 25,000," said Hoyos.

In Colombia’s four-decade civil war, extreme right-wing paramilitary militias with strong links to drug trafficking provide operational support for the army.

The paramilitaries are blamed for at least 70 percent of the human rights crimes committed against civilians, including labour, social and human rights activists and people suspected of sympathising with or supporting the guerrillas.

Hoyos said Las Voces del Secuestro" has transmitted a total of "280,000 messages" to kidnapping victims since the start of the programme in 1994.

The journalist explained that he works with 27 volunteers in Bogotá and 320 in other towns and cities around the country, including "reporters, journalism students, doctors, sociologists, lawyers, psychologists, priests, and even two bishops."

Their task consists of being available, wherever they live, to provide assistance to the victims of the armed conflict, especially kidnapping victims and the families of people who have been forcibly "disappeared". They carry out research, investigate, compile data, and follow up on legal investigations and judicial cases of kidnappings and forced disappearance.

"We are currently creating a network to help us search for missing people. Using humanitarian investigative journalism techniques, we are trying to reach the jungles of Colombia, to find the bodies of at least 2,000 kidnapping victims…The idea is to locate them and deliver their remains to their families," he added.

He said that many bodies have been found, although he preferred not to elaborate, because of security reasons.

In the early hours of Sunday morning, from 2:00 to 4:00 AM, "Las Voces del Secuestro" will broadcast a special episode on a free eight-hour concert held Thursday in Plaza de Bolívar, at the heart of Bogotá.

The concert, organised by the city’s leftist government, was offered by the country’s leading bands and the Cuban band Orishas, for "the lives and freedom of kidnapping victims in Colombia", under the theme "To See Each Other Again - Humanitarian Accord".

The special episode will include interviews by Hoyos’s volunteers of the concert-goers, who included politicians, diplomats, and representatives of the European Union, said the journalist.