Egyptian public, private sectors off on Apr 25 marking Sinai Liberation    Egypt's SCZONE welcomes Zhejiang Province delegation for trade talks    Beltone Venture Capital partners with Citadel International to manage $30m startup fund    S. Africa to use contingency reserves to tackle debt    Gaza health authorities urge action for cancer, chronic disease patients    Transport Minister discusses progress on supplying new railway carriages with Hungarian company    Egypt's local gold prices see minor rise on April 18th    Expired US license impacts Venezuela crude exports    Taiwan's TSMC profit ups in Q1    Yen Rises, dollar retreats as G7 eyes currency calm    Egypt, Bahrain vow joint action to end Gaza crisis    Egypt looks forward to mobilising sustainable finance for Africa's public health: Finance Minister    Egypt's Ministry of Health initiates 90 free medical convoys    Egypt, Serbia leaders vow to bolster ties, discuss Mideast, Ukraine crises    Singapore leads $5b initiative for Asian climate projects    Karim Gabr inaugurates 7th International Conference of BUE's Faculty of Media    EU pledges €3.5b for oceans, environment    Egypt forms supreme committee to revive historic Ahl Al-Bayt Trail    Debt swaps could unlock $100b for climate action    Acts of goodness: Transforming companies, people, communities    Eid in Egypt: A Journey through Time and Tradition    President Al-Sisi embarks on new term with pledge for prosperity, democratic evolution    Amal Al Ghad Magazine congratulates President Sisi on new office term    Tourism Minister inspects Grand Egyptian Museum, Giza Pyramids    Egypt's healthcare sector burgeoning with opportunities for investors – minister    Egypt starts construction of groundwater drinking water stations in South Sudan    Russians in Egypt vote in Presidential Election    Egyptian, Japanese Judo communities celebrate new coach at Tokyo's Embassy in Cairo    Uppingham Cairo and Rafa Nadal Academy Unite to Elevate Sports Education in Egypt with the Introduction of the "Rafa Nadal Tennis Program"    Egypt's powerhouse 'The Tank' Hamed Khallaf secures back-to-back gold at World Cup Weightlifting Championship"    Financial literacy becomes extremely important – EGX official    Euro area annual inflation up to 2.9% – Eurostat    Egypt builds 8 groundwater stations in S. Sudan    BYD، Brazil's Sigma Lithium JV likely    UNESCO celebrates World Arabic Language Day    Motaz Azaiza mural in Manchester tribute to Palestinian journalists    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Colombian rebels free captives held for over a decade
Published in The Egyptian Gazette on 03 - 04 - 2012

BOGOTA - Colombia's FARC rebels freed 10 members of the armed forces held hostage in jungle prison camps for more than a decade on Monday, the last of a group the drug-funded group had used as bargaining chips to pressure the government.
The four soldiers and six policemen were released to a humanitarian mission led by the International Committee of the Red Cross in what the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia called a gesture of peace.
Wearing olive fatigues and seeming well fed and relatively healthy, the 10 men stepped off a helicopter provided by Brazil after the Marxist rebels freed them in a remote area of southern Colombia.
Smiling and joking with a medic, one soldier left the aircraft draped in the Colombian flag and skipping with joy. Each carried a plastic bag of belongings and one was accompanied by what appeared to be a small pig that had been his pet in the jungle. Another had what looked like a monkey on his shoulder.
"To these victims of the intolerance and cruelty of the guerrillas, soldiers and policemen of Colombia, welcome to freedom," President Juan Manuel Santos said from the presidential palace. "Freedom has been long delayed, but now it's yours."
The release could signal that the FARC is taking tentative steps toward a bid for talks that may end Latin America's oldest insurgency after five decades of killing and destroying economic infrastructure.
But many Colombians remain skeptical that the guerrilla group, which is still believed to be holding as many as 700 civilian hostages for ransom, will lay down its weapons after having used previous peace talks to strengthen their forces.
Santos, who is under pressure to end the conflict, has demanded the FARC free all its prisoners and cease attacks on civilian and military targets before any talks can take place.
"As soon as the government considers there are sufficient conditions to initiate a process that would end the conflict, the country will know," Santos said, in an apparent response to rumors of secret peace talks.
"In the meantime, everything else that has been said about this is no more than speculation."
The 10 men were seized at the end of the 1990s when the FARC was at its strongest. They formed part of a group known as "canjeables," or exchangeables, used to pressure the government for political concessions rather than for ransom payments.


Clic here to read the story from its source.