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4/29/2005 : Colombia - The Forgotten Hostages (BBC)
A Colombia film about the three US contractors detained by the FARC in Colombia was shown on ABC Australia, last week.
There are no plans for the film to be shown in the US - both Northrop Grumman and US authorities are "not very keen" and understandably, US networks are very wary about transmitting this film...
4/28/2005 : In the veins of Plan Colombia
North American soldiers in charge of training the Colombian army against the guerrilla have been caught trafficking cocaine. They might be the link to an international network headed by the same people that were hired by the country to fight drug dealing
4/27/2005 : Commission man goes missing in Colombia
A European Commission official responsible for development projects at the EU´s Colombia and Ecuador mission has been missing for the past ten days.
The EU's Bogota-based office lost contact with Carlos Ayala-Saavedra around April 17, while he was travelling through the Colombian countryside near Cucuta on the Colombian-Venezuelan border.
4/26/2005 : Thousands flee violent clashes in southern Colombia
The Colombian armed forces are striving to regain control over a large mountainous region in the department of Cauca, in south-western Colombia, where members of the FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia / People's Army) launched an armed offensive in mid-April.
The violent clashes, which began with strikes on a police station in Toribío on 14 April, have spread to the neighbouring communities of Caloto and Silvia, forcing thousands of mainly indigenous people to flee in search of safety.
In the last 10 days, the ICRC and the Colombian Red Cross have provided food and other basic necessities for over 3,900 civilians (884 families) displaced by the fighting. Both organizations remain on the spot in order to respond to the most urgent humanitarian needs of the displaced.
4/23/2005 : Colombia's displaced
Since 1985, it is estimated that up to three million people have been displaced by the conflict in Colombia, representing the world's third largest internally displaced population. Those affected face security concerns, a lack of stable income, insecure housing, poor access to health and education services and deficient sanitation. A joint report by the ICRC and the World Food Programme has assessed their situation.
4/21/2005 : Use all means to help…
In Monteux (Vaucluse) on Friday 22 April, the Ingrid Betancourt support committee of Vaucluse is organising an evening in support of freedom for of Ingrid Florence, Hussein and other hostages, at 20.30 in the local hall.
Among those who have confirmed they will attend :
Her Royal Highness, the Duchess of Wurtemburg; Madame Nicole Penicaud, Chief Editor of Liberation; Bernard Casoni, former player and coach of Olympique Marseille as well as Deputies, Senators, Regional Councillors, General Councillors, Mayors and elected representatives of Vaucluse.
4/19/2005 : Native Indian peoples of Colombia organise an anti-war march
Thousands of native Indians of Colombians holding sticks and white flags took part in a peace march towards the town of Toribio. This town has been under siege by FARC rebels.
4/19/2005 : War Crime
When a guerrilla makes military actions, as ambushes and attacks to trimmings and convoys of the Armed Forces in Iscuandé or Arauca, is a thing. When a guerilla raises a town to explosions and it assassinates innocent civilians is another one, in the today world no ideology justifies and has been, for that reason, object of most unanimous rejection.
4/17/2005 : Militarism and Social Movement
War is destroying the social fabric of Colombia : Almost 3 million displaced persons, 8,000 homicides annually for socio-political reasons, 3,500 detentions a year, and hundreds of forced disappearances. These are the tragic results of a conflict that appears interminable.
In all, Colombia has one of the highest crime rates in the world, with some 27,000 homicides a year. (1) The state appears incapable of offering security and justice in a situation of deteriorating institutions.
The war and violence in Colombia revolve on a central axis: land. Territorial control is the reason for a conflict that has already lasted half a century...
4/15/2005 : Widespread support for Florence and Hussein now held for 100 days.
Lights, photos, jingles, release of balloons, messages read in theatres… on the occasion of the 100th day in captivity in Iraq for Florence Aubenas, the journalist from Liberation and her guide Hussein Hanoun, many events were organised throughout Friday 15 April.
4/13/2005 : The Colombian Government rejects proposal from relatives of kidnap victims.
The Colombian government rejected on 12 April the proposal of relatives of a group of kidnap victims. Their proposal ? To create a demilitarised zone where it would be possible to meet FARC to negotiate an exchange of prisoners.
4/12/2005 : International Criminal Court looks into Colombia
The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Luis Moreno Ocampo, asked the Colombian government on 31 March to send him detailed information on crimes committed during the government's war with the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC).
4/11/2005 : Five Human Rights Activists Freed by FARC
Kidnappers have freed five members of the Commission for Justice and Peace (CIJP) kidnapped on 31 March in the Choco region by an armed group thought to be part of the FARC, official sources have confirmed.
4/10/2005 : Colombia 'will not try US troops'
A group of US soldiers arrested for alleged cocaine smuggling cannot be allowed to stand trial in Colombia, Washington's envoy to Bogota has said.
Colombian senators have been calling for the men, who were based in the country, to be extradited from the US. But US ambassador William Wood said the soldiers are immune from prosecution.
More than 200 Colombian citizens have been extradited to the US to face trial for drug trafficking, under a bilateral deal between the two countries.
4/9/2005 : A radio for the hostages of Colombia
" My dear daughter I think of you every day". On 20 February at one o'clock in the morning 3 days before the third anniversary of the kidnapping of Ingrid Betancourt, the former candidate in the Colombian Presidential elections currently held by FARC, Yolanda Pulecio, her mother sent this moving message to her daughter from the studios of Radio Caracol in Colombia.
It is not possible to know if this message was heard or not. The programme " Voices of the Kidnapped" in which Yolanda spoke these words of hope has been running for 11 years now (without much publicity) and it has broadcast more than 100,000 messages. Every Saturday at dawn, Herbin Hoios who is in charge of the programme and a former kidnap victim helps families and friends to communicate (in a one-way fashion) with the 3000 persons that remain kidnapped in the country, by both rebels and paramilitaries.
On the occasion of the meeting of Presidents Chavez, Lula, Uribe and Zapatero, Presidents Chavez, Zapatero and Lula expressed their deep concern about the fate of Ingrid Betancourt, her campaign director Clara Rojas and 23 other political hostages currently detained by FARC. They indicated their interest in moves that might lead to a Humanitarian Agreement.
4/4/2005 : Colombian Church asks rebels to participate in a humanitarian agreement
According to the Conference of Bishops in Colombia the death of John-Paul 11 has deprived those who are kidnapped in that country of one of their most important spokespersons and defenders of freedom.
The Conference has asked rebels forces to think about messages sent by the Pope and has invited them to a 'face to face ' meeting with the Church in order to bring about a humanitarian agreement.
4/2/2005 : Colombia Coca Cultivation Remains
President Alvaro Uribe vowed on Friday to press ahead with U.S.-financed fumigation of cocaine-producing crops, even as a new White House report found that a massive aerial spraying offensive last year failed to dent the area of coca under cultivation in Colombia.
4/1/2005 : Spain to Lend Planes to Colombia, May Mediate in Peace Talks
Spain will lend Colombia three military planes and may mediate in peace talks with guerrillas in a bid to back Colombian President Alvaro Uribe's efforts to secure the nation from drug-funded terrorism, Spain's Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said.
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