Colombian Guerillas Announce Liberation of Hostages

Bogotá,
18 December ABN.- The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia announced
the liberation of Clara Rojas, her son Emmanuel and Consuelo Gonzalez,
who will be delivered to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, or to whom
he decides.

In
a communiqué, the insurgent group considered the gesture an apology to
the relatives of the hostages, to Chávez and to the senator Piedad
Cordoba, whose mediation of the humanitarian exchange was canceled by
the Colombian government, the news agency Prensa Latina divulged.

According to the text endorsed by the Secretariat of the FARC, "the order to liberate them in Colombia has already been given."

In
the communiqué of six points, the FARC insisted on the removal of the
military in the municipalities of Florida and Pradera for 45 days to
carry out a humanitarian accord and ratified their decision to advance
in a political solution to the armed conflict.

They
considered the proposal of a zone of encounter to talk with "the lying
Peace Commissioner Restrepo, in inhospitable, remote and secret places,
with a time limit of 30 days" as disorganized and unacceptable.

Restrepo
threatens with more military operations, ratifies the order of military
rescue and offers dollars to the guerrillas so that betray their
ideals, the FARC warned.

They
also thanked Chávez for his dedication, colossal effort as facilitator,
good faith, his solidarity with the peaceful cause of the Colombian
people and the time invested in spite of his large responsibilities.

The
insurgent organization considered that "the annulment of the
facilitating mediation was an act of diplomatic barbarism against the
legitimate leader of a brother state and against the supportive,
Venezuelan people in solidarity with the request from Bogotá."

This
was also a message to the president Nicolas Sarkozy, to the supportive
Latin-American politicians charged with the facilitating task and "to
the relatives of the prisoners of war, from both sides, that felt
closer to the end of their anguishes," the FARC indicated.