Brazil provided the helicopter that collected the released hostage Colombia's Farc rebel group has released the first of five hostages it had promised to free as a gesture of peace to the government. The hostage, local politician Marcos Baquero, was collected by a Brazilian military helicopter from a secret location in the Colombian jungle.
He had been in captivity for 19 months.
The Colombian government has demanded that all hostages be freed as a condition for any talks with the left-wing rebels.
Mr Baquero was released to a humanitarian delegation led by ex-senator Piedad Cordoba, who played a role in previous hostage releases but was also banned from the senate for her alleged links to the rebels.
"My first words are for my family and my wife who I love very much. Thanks be to God I am now coming out," he told Colombian broadcaster Caracol as he was being flown to the city of Villavicencio, where the rescue operation is based.
"We have to keep working hard for the liberation of the other hostages," he added.
Mr Baquero was kidnapped in June 2009 when Farc guerrillas ambushed a group of local politicians on a road near the town of San Jose de Guaviare.
Continue reading the main story Jerry McDermott BBC News, BogotaNobody is getting their hopes up just yet, but there are indications that both the Farc and the government are ready to sit down and talk.
The government of President Juan Manuel Santos has said it would be prepared to start a dialogue when the Farc have released all the hostages they hold, something Ms Cordoba said could be completed within six months.
There have been peace talks before, the last round ending in 2002, but there have been some significant changes to the 46-year civil conflict since then, foremost among them a series of defeats for the rebels who have seen their number halved to 8,000 fighters and many of their top commanders killed.
Last December the Farc announced that it was prepared to free him along with another politician, two soldiers and a policeman, but agreement on security arrangements for the release has required lengthy negotiations.Brazil has been acting as a neutral facilitator along with the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The Colombian military temporarily suspended operations across a huge area in the south of the country to facilitate the release.
The Farc has been describing the releases as a unilateral "gesture of peace" to the government.
The BBC's Jeremy McDermott in Bogota says there are growing indications that the two sides may soon be prepared to open a serious dialogue.
View the original article here
This post was made using the Auto Blogging Software from WebMagnates.org This line will not appear when posts are made after activating the software to full version.
No comments:
Post a Comment