Five former hostages, now seeking seats in Congress, call for humanitarian exchange, the abolition of kidnapping and a solution to Colombia’s armed conflict.
The five candidates, all former hostages of the FARC, presented their requests at the 4th Partido Liberal Congress which took place in Bogota this weekend and was headed by presidential candidate and opposition leader Raphael Pardo, reported news site Terra Monday.
The requests, detailed in a document signed by the various former hostages, “called on the National Government to guarantee the effective implementation of a humanitarian exchange which is a road to peace through social justice.”
The document also asked that “armed actors” in the Colombian conflict desist from the practice of kidnapping and refrain from activities that jeopardize people’s lives or freedom.
There are various former FARC hostages seeking political positions in Colombia, among them Clara Rojas, Orlando Beltran and Sigifredo Lopez for the Partido Liberal, while Gustavo Moncayo, father of Pablo Emilio Moncayo who is still being held by guerrillas in the jungle, has also launched a political career through the Polo Democratico Alternativo.
The Colombian population will go to the polls in March 2010 to vote in 102 senators and 163 representatives of the House.