Colombian Rebels Free 10, Raising Hopes of Peace Talks With Government

[Judi Lynn]

Colombian Rebels Free 10, Raising Hopes of Peace Talks With Government
By WILLIAM NEUMAN and JENNY CAROLINA GONZÁLEZ
Published: April 2, 2012

CARACAS, Venezuela — Colombia’s main rebel group on Monday released four soldiers and six police officers it had held hostage for as long as 14 years. The 10 men were thought to be the last remaining noncivilian captives held by the group, which has used kidnapping and drug trafficking to help finance its nearly five-decade war against the Colombian government.

The emotional release of the hostages was sure to feed hopes for peace talks between the government and the rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as the FARC. But many analysts said the two sides were still far from achieving the mutual trust that would allow meaningful progress toward ending the conflict.

President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, in a brief television appearance, said the release was an important — but not a sufficient — step for peace talks, and he demanded that the FARC release all civilian hostages it is still holding for ransom. The group pledged in February to renounce kidnapping altogether, although it has not renounced violence. Eleven government soldiers were killed in a FARC attack last month.

The freed men were picked up from a secret rendezvous site by helicopters provided by the Brazilian government. They were led off the helicopters by medical personnel, after touching down at an airstrip in Villavicencio, southeast of Bogotá, the capital, at 5:43 p.m.

More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/world/americas/farc-frees-10-hostages-in-colombia.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

[Judi Lynn]

1. Colombia 'milestone' as FARC frees captives after over a decade

Colombia 'milestone' as FARC frees captives after over a decade
By msnbc.com staff and news services

Colombia's FARC rebels freed 10 members of the armed forces held hostage in jungle prison camps for more than a decade on Monday, the last of a group the drug-funded group had used as bargaining chips to pressure the government.

The four soldiers and six policemen were released to a humanitarian mission led by the International Committee of the Red Cross in what the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia called a gesture of peace.

Wearing olive fatigues and seeming well fed and relatively healthy, the 10 men stepped off a helicopter provided by Brazil after the Marxist rebels freed them in a remote area of southern Colombia.

Following their successful recovery from the jungle, the hostages were taken to the city of Villavicencio, received by medics of the security forces and some immediately reunited with family members in the VIP lounge of the small airport, according to a report on local English language news website Colombia Reports.

More:
http://worldnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/03/10995443-colombia-milestone-as-farc-frees-captives-after-over-a-decade