The Colombian government’s demand to involve the Vatican in the
commission authorized to manage the release of six FARC hostages seems
to have halted the process that should lead to the release.
According to opposition senator and mediator Piedad Córdoba, the government demand took her by susprise and will delay the release, because the FARC would never agree with any involvement of the Church.
“The FARC will be completely against this idea, because they don’t trust the Catholic Church. At this moment, it’s an obstacle that obviously will delay the process a bit,” she told newspaper El Espectador.
The Government — since mid 2008 rejecting any foreign interference when it comes to the FARC — meanwhile puts his foot down and says it has fulfilled the FARC’s demands for a foreign guarantor and it’s now up to the guerrillas to keep their word.
“At the request of the FARC to allow the participation of a representative of the international community as guarantor, the President announced on January 12 that the country accepts the person or institution designated by the Vatican,” High Commissioner of Peace Luis Carlos Restrepo reiterated Tuesday.
Córdoba will now try to force a compromise between the Government and rebels, but she can not say when the release of the two politicians and four members of the security forces will take place. “This depends on our capacity to convince on one side the Government and on the other side the guerrilla. If it wasn’t for this, we probably would have seen the release this month, which I still don’t rule out,” the mediator said.
Neither the FARC nor the Catholic Church have reponded to the latest government demand.