Colombian rebels confirm planned release of three hostages

Colombian Marxist guerrillas have confirmed that they plan to release three hostages. They include a top aide to Franco-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt and a child born in captivity. Colombian rebels confirm planned release of three hostages The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said on its website Thursday it would free Clara Rojas, who was kidnapped with Betancourt during her 2002 presidential bid, along with Rojas' three- or four-year-old son Emmanuel, whose father is a rebel. The rebels said they would also release lawmaker Consuelo Gonzalez de Perdomo, kidnapped in 2001. The statement on the rebel website followed criticism within the government of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe that cast doubt on the veracity of an earlier announcement made via a Cuban news agency on Tuesday. It was also delivered via the Cuban embassy in Bogota. The seven-point statement, titled "FARC: Uribe, a coward," said the release was a gesture of goodwill towards the relatives of the hostages, as well as to both Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and opposition Senator Piedad Cordoba, who tried to mediate a hostage-for-prisoner swap. FARC is trying to swap some 45 high-profile captives -- including Betancourt, several politicians, and three Americans captured in 2003 -- for 500 imprisoned rebels. In late November Uribe angrily canceled Chavez's mediation efforts on charges that he broke negotiation rules, and bitter words were exchanged. Earlier Thursday Uribe said in an interview with RCN radio network that Colombia gave France reports from its intelligence agencies on the hostages. "We have had important intelligence information on the topic," Uribe told RCN. "We have not been able to confirm them (the reports), but we have prudently presented them to the government of France." French President Nicolas Sarkozy has taken a personal interest in efforts to obtain Betancourt's release. Uribe gave no details on what was in the reports, but did say that the conditions were in place to release three of those hostages. "For several weeks," Uribe said, "we have said, 'if you want to hand over the hostages to President Sarkozy or to President Chavez, whom they hold in such high esteem, well let them hand them over.'" Uribe said he was especially happy to learn that one of the hostages being released was Emmanuel. "I was especially happy with the news of that boy, Emmanuel, because he was conceived while kidnapped, born kidnapped, had lived his life kidnapped -- this is a situation as aberrant as slavery," he said. The FARC's second in command, Raul Reyes, told the Anncol news agency that Uribe's "stubborn obstruction" was the main obstacle in concluding a hostage-for-prisoners swap. "The immediate resignation of Uribe along with that of his whole government would guarantee the liberation of the prisoners, alive, through the signing of a humanitarian agreement," said Reyes, according to the undated text published by Anncol and posted on its Internet site on Wednesday. Leon Valencia, an analyst with the New Rainbow foundation and himself a former guerrilla, said it is "highly probable that the hostages are already in Venezuela or very close to the border." Three Colombian ex-presidents appealed to the rebel group to accept Uribe's recent proposal to make the exchange in two small townships in southern Colombia of about 150 square kilometers (58 square miles) in size, an idea FARC in its statement Tuesday rejected because the area was "inhospitable" and "remote." Negotiations for a swap deal have stalled for months over FARC's demand of a huge demilitarized zone for the talks, which Uribe has repeatedly turned down. FARC hostages include two army corporals, Pablo Moncayo and Libio Martinez, who on Friday will have been held for 10 years, the longest held hostages in the world, according to a Colombian non-governmental organization. Separately, Colombian former president Ernesto Samper announced that he would travel to Caracas to meet with Chavez in order to help facilitate the hostage release. "I will go meet with President Chavez because I believe that in all of the years that I have been pushing for a humanitarian agreement I had never seen so much progress as in the last three months," Samper, president from 1994-1998, told Caracol television.

Colombian rebels confirm planned release of three hostages

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) said on its website Thursday it would free Clara Rojas, who was kidnapped with Betancourt during her 2002 presidential bid, along with Rojas' three- or four-year-old son Emmanuel, whose father is a rebel.

The rebels said they would also release lawmaker Consuelo Gonzalez de Perdomo, kidnapped in 2001.

The statement on the rebel website followed criticism within the government of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe that cast doubt on the veracity of an earlier announcement made via a Cuban news agency on Tuesday. It was also delivered via the Cuban embassy in Bogota.

The seven-point statement, titled "FARC: Uribe, a coward," said the release was a gesture of goodwill towards the relatives of the hostages, as well as to both Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and opposition Senator Piedad Cordoba, who tried to mediate a hostage-for-prisoner swap.

FARC is trying to swap some 45 high-profile captives -- including Betancourt, several politicians, and three Americans captured in 2003 -- for 500 imprisoned rebels.

In late November Uribe angrily canceled Chavez's mediation efforts on charges that he broke negotiation rules, and bitter words were exchanged.

Earlier Thursday Uribe said in an interview with RCN radio network that Colombia gave France reports from its intelligence agencies on the hostages.

"We have had important intelligence information on the topic," Uribe told RCN. "We have not been able to confirm them (the reports), but we have prudently presented them to the government of France."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has taken a personal interest in efforts to obtain Betancourt's release.

Uribe gave no details on what was in the reports, but did say that the conditions were in place to release three of those hostages.

"For several weeks," Uribe said, "we have said, 'if you want to hand over the hostages to President Sarkozy or to President Chavez, whom they hold in such high esteem, well let them hand them over.'"

Uribe said he was especially happy to learn that one of the hostages being released was Emmanuel.

"I was especially happy with the news of that boy, Emmanuel, because he was conceived while kidnapped, born kidnapped, had lived his life kidnapped -- this is a situation as aberrant as slavery," he said.

The FARC's second in command, Raul Reyes, told the Anncol news agency that Uribe's "stubborn obstruction" was the main obstacle in concluding a hostage-for-prisoners swap.

"The immediate resignation of Uribe along with that of his whole government would guarantee the liberation of the prisoners, alive, through the signing of a humanitarian agreement," said Reyes, according to the undated text published by Anncol and posted on its Internet site on Wednesday.

Leon Valencia, an analyst with the New Rainbow foundation and himself a former guerrilla, said it is "highly probable that the hostages are already in Venezuela or very close to the border."

Three Colombian ex-presidents appealed to the rebel group to accept Uribe's recent proposal to make the exchange in two small townships in southern Colombia of about 150 square kilometers (58 square miles) in size, an idea FARC in its statement Tuesday rejected because the area was "inhospitable" and "remote."

Negotiations for a swap deal have stalled for months over FARC's demand of a huge demilitarized zone for the talks, which Uribe has repeatedly turned down.

FARC hostages include two army corporals, Pablo Moncayo and Libio Martinez, who on Friday will have been held for 10 years, the longest held hostages in the world, according to a Colombian non-governmental organization.

Separately, Colombian former president Ernesto Samper announced that he would travel to Caracas to meet with Chavez in order to help facilitate the hostage release.

"I will go meet with President Chavez because I believe that in all of the years that I have been pushing for a humanitarian agreement I had never seen so much progress as in the last three months," Samper, president from 1994-1998, told Caracol television.