Colombia leader rejects Jesse Jackson help in release of U.S. hostage

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Colombia leader rejects Jesse Jackson help in release of U.S. hostage

By Carlos Vargas and Peter Murphy
BOGOTA | Sat Sep 28, 2013 11:04pm EDT

(Reuters) - Colombia's president rejected the involvement of U.S. civil rights activist Jesse Jackson in overseeing the release of a former U.S. Marine kidnapped by FARC rebels, saying on Saturday he would not allow the guerrillas a "media spectacle."

The FARC kidnapped Afghanistan war veteran Kevin Scott Sutay in June as he trekked through jungle in southeastern Colombia despite warnings from the police to abandon the trip through what it said was a "red zone" of guerrilla activity.

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Jackson told reporters in Cuba, where he is on a visit to try to improve ties between the communist-run island and the United States, that he agreed to help and would aim to arrive in Colombia within a week.

Hopes of an imminent release dimmed by the evening when President Juan Manuel Santos rejected Jackson's intervention via Twitter, reiterating he would deny the FARC an ostentatious liberation it has called a "humanitarian" gesture.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/29/us-colombia-rebels-jackson-idUSBRE98R0E720130929

[Judi Lynn]

1. So the dipstick really doesn't care so much about getting his US Marine freed, does he?

He says far more about himself than he realizes.

A-hole.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Jesse Jackson continues Farc mission despite Colombia refusal

29 September 2013 Last updated at 21:59 ET
Jesse Jackson continues Farc mission despite Colombia refusal

The US civil rights activist Rev Jesse Jackson says he will go to Colombia to seek the release of a former US marine held hostage despite the government's rejection of his mediation offer.

President Juan Manuel Santos said on Saturday he did not want the freeing of the man held by left-wing Farc rebels to become a "media spectacle."

Only the Red Cross would be allowed to participate, Mr Santos said.

Meanwhile, the rebels have asked the president to reconsider his position.

The International Committee of the Red Cross also said on Sunday it is waiting for an agreement to get into the process.

"When both sides (the Farc and the government) reach an agreement, we will start playing our part," the ICRC spokesperson Erika Tovar told Colombian newspaper El Espectador.

More:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-24327394