A Colombian army general kidnapped by Marxist rebels has been released along with two other hostages, paving the way for peace talks in Cuba to resume in the quest to end five decades of conflict.
General Ruben Dario Alzate was taken two weeks ago by paramilitaries from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), along with two of his travelling companions, Corporal Jorge Contreras and civilian lawyer Gloria Urrego.
The captives were seized as they disembarked from a boat in a jungle region of coastal Choco, and FARC declared him a prisoner of war.
After their capture, Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos immediately halted peace talks with the group, aimed at bringing an end to the conflict that has killed more than 200,000 people.
FARC said the general was kidnapped because the group was unhappy at military activity continuing during the talks.
But overnight it released the three hostages - having already released two kidnapped soldiers last week.
"It's clear this decision contributes to returning to a favourable climate for continuing the talks (and) shows the maturity of the process," Mr Santos said in a statement.
He said he would meet his team of negotiators to discuss their return to the two-year-old peace talks in Cuba.
FARC said it was eager to restart negotiations with the government.
In a statement posted online confirming the hostages' release, the FARC negotiating team in Havana reiterated its demand for a ceasefire during peace talks, a request Mr Santos has repeatedly said is out of the question.
"It's time for a bilateral ceasefire, for armistice, so that no bellicose happening in the battlefield justifies interrupting such a beautiful and historic process like that of agreeing peace for a nation which longs for this destiny," the statement said.
It referred to the need "to redesign the rules of the game" without clarifying what that meant.
A statement last week from FARC leader Rodrigo Londono, also known as Timochenko, said Mr Santos had violated a general agreement stating that the talks must not be interrupted.
"A peace process which has gotten to this level ... cannot be submitted to any type of hurried and impulsive attitudes which will stall the coming of our reconciliation," the FARC negotiators said.
FARC said a member of its negotiating team had travelled to Colombia to ensure the hostages' release went smoothly.
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, communism, colombiaView the original article here
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar