A commission of Brazilian experts in Colombia began their final preparations on Tuesday to receive two hostages due to be released by the FARC.
A representative of the Catholic Church participating in the negotiations for the hostages’ release, Juan Vicente Cordoba, said that the Brazilian commission is “now in Colombia advancing the process,” reports AFP.
We are moving forward, and I have faith that, as the director for the International Committee of the Red Cross [ICRC] Cristophe Berney said [last Thursday], there is no going back,” Cordoba explained.
According to the terms of the release, which were announced two weeks ago by the FARC, Brazil will act as mediator in the liberation of the hostages, providing transport and organizational support.
There are still a few details that need to be worked out regarding security arrangements before the operation can be conducted, Cordoba went on to say. This, he claimed, could take another two weeks.
Negotiations between the Colombian government, the Church, and the ICRC over the hostages’ release have been ongoing for nearly a year.
One of the hostages due to be released, Pablo Emilio Moncayo, has been in FARC captivity since 1997, and the other, Josue Daniel Calvo, since April last year. Both are Colombian soldiers.
In addition to the hostages, the FARC will also release the remains of policeman Julian Guevara, who died in 2006 after eight years in captivity.
Brazil participated in a similar operation involving a FARC hostage release in February 2009, when the guerilla group freed two politicians and four soldiers.