The release of Pablo Emilio Moncayo, a hostage the FARC promised to
surrender, is deadlocked, now the Colombian government has rejected the
involvement of opposition senator Piedad Cordoba, who the guerrillas
insist to be involved.
The FARC insisted Wednesday that Cordoba, who had mediated the release of six other hostages this year, be ivolved in the operation “as a guarantee for transparency of the operation.”
Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, speaking in Spain after receiving the Libertad Cortez de Cadiz award, repeated the government’s position that only the International Red Cross is authorized to be involved in the surrender of hostages, avoiding “the opportunity to deceive the Colombian people or to protect members of FARC politics with a humanitarian mantle.”
“The FARC trusts Cordoba, but Uribe does not want to give either the
guerrillas or Cordoba the chance to profit, politically, from the
release of Moncayo,” Bogota-based analyst Pablo Casas told press agency Reuters.
“Next year is an election year and Cordoba has already raised her
profile with voters by helping with previous releases,” the analyst added.
Cordoba herself ignored the government’s explicit rejection of her mediation and continues seeking support for a “humanitarian agreement” or “prisoner swap”. The senator Monday met with one of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Sila’s closest advisers and Wednesday said the FARC would like the presence of U.S. congressmen at the release operation of Moncayo.
Meanwhile, even after eleven years of captivity, Moncayo’s release does not seem to be coming a day closer.