President Alvaro Uribe ordered the army and the police to continue with military operations to secure the release of all hostages. He said that no military operation would put the release of FARC hostage Pablo Emilo Moncayo in jeopardy.
The head of state said that military action, or unilateral release by the FARC through the Catholic Church and
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), are the only two acceptable paths for hostage release.
“We have told trust in the military and police operatives who facilitate the release of hostages,” he said. He added that the ICRC had ready all the necessary procedures to facilitate the release of Moncayo, in place of the procedure requested by the FARC.
“The government has not put up any obstacle to the
Red Cross. There has been no obstacle for the Catholic Church. What we are not going to do is give in to the pressures of terrorism propaganda.
What we will not allow is the use of torture, liberating hostages drop by drop, to clothe in humanitarian attire what is really ‘Farcpolítica’, “said
Uribe.
The Colombian government has received criticism for not allowing opposition senator Piedad Cordoba
to mediate the release of Moncayo, who has been in FARC captivity
for more than 11 years. The release is deadlocked, because the FARC
insists Cordoba plays a role.
The government has accused Cordoba of collaborating with the FARC, otherwise known as ‘Farcpolítica’
According to analyst Pablo Casas, “Uribe does not want to give either the
guerrillas or Cordoba the chance to profit, politically, from the
release of Moncayo.”
