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Conseil Régional d'Ile de France, 16 décembre 04
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12/30/2004 : Church in Colombia; FARC must stop its practice of kidnapping
Monsignor Luis Augusto Castro, bishop of Tunja and member of the commission to facilitate a humanitarian exchange has indicated that FARC must free its hostages before it can claim its ability to speak before the United Nations.
12/27/2004 : Tourists kidnapped in Colombia
Marxist rebels have abducted up to 10 tourists celebrating Christmas at a lakeside spa in north-western Colombia, officials said.
12/24/2004 : Ingrid Betancourt's Christmas
During these days of Christmas and at the dawning of a New Year, I often think of Ingrid Betancourt and all the other hostages, but especially of Ingrid; because I had the opportunity to talk with her a few weeks before she was kidnapped; because she is a woman and that allows me to wonder about her actual situation in Colombia, deprived of freedom; because for me she is a symbol of all kidnap victims...
12/23/2004 : The Betancourt family thank President Chirac and criticise Uribe.
Following Chirac's reference to Ingrid Betancourt's continuing kidnap ordeal in Colombia, her family has thanked President Chirac. They condemned President Uribe of Colombia for having put an ultimatum to her kidnappers. "I was sad without Ingrid and without a lot of hope before hearing that Mr Chirac had not forgotten my daughter when he welcomed home the two Frenchmen who had been kidnapped in Iraq", stated Ingrid's mother Ms Yolanda Pulecio.
12/21/2004 :
Two French journalists have been freed in Iraq, ending a four-month hostage ordeal at the hands of Islamic militants that had shocked France and embarrassed President Jacques Chirac's government.
"I have the profound joy of announcing that Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot have been freed by the Islamic Army (in Iraq)," Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin told France's Senate to loud applause followed by a standing ovation
12/20/2004 : "Uribe's proposal is like a bomb under each hostage"
The proposal of President Alvaro Uribe to link the non-extradition to the US of Ricardo Palmers a major FARC chief to the liberation of 63 hostages is "like placing a bomb under each hostage", stated Gustavo Petro, opposition deputy in the Colombian Parliament. According to Petro, FARC will reject this demand.
12/19/2004 : Colombia gives rebels a hostage ultimatum
Colombia's president is giving guerrillas until Dec. 30 to free 63 political hostages (including Ingrid Betancourt and the three U.S. contractors) or face their leader's extradition to the United States.
12/18/2004 : Dublin will be tested by escaped trio
The Irish Government’s credibility will be tested if three republicans on the run from Colombian authorities return to Dublin, it was claimed today.
David Burnside, a hardline Ulster Unionist MP, claimed the Government would face a defining moment if the trio return home. He said: “Their history of not extraditing terrorists over the last 30 years is terrible. This could develop into a major diplomatic incident.
Caitriona Ruane, the Sinn Féin MLA who has fronted the Bring Them Home project, insisted reports they had fled should be treated with suspicion.
12/17/2004 : The Colombia connection
The arrest of three Irishmen in Colombia back in August 2001 sparked a major controversy in the Northern Ireland political process.
Their initial acquittal has now been overturned by a higher court and they face sentences of more than 17 years.
BBC News explains the background to the case.
12/16/2004 : Colombia captures 'chancellor' of FARC rebel group
The chief of international relations for Colombia's biggest leftist rebel group, who once sought support from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, was arrested after a months-long manhunt, police said on Wednesday.
12/15/2004 : The European Union ratifies its support for the Peace Process in Colombia.
Foreign Affairs Ministers for the European Union reaffirmed on Monday their support for the Colombian Government's moves to obtain a negotiated settlement to the armed conflict and they spoke in favour of a " humanitarian exchange " between guerrillas and those who remain kidnapped.
12/14/2004 : Colombian ex-army and police officers mercenaries in Iraq.
Valued for their experience in the fight against rebels, led by the government in Colombia, some ex-army and military officers from that country are heading to Iraq to work as mercenaries. An American company could be linked to their recruitment according to an article that appeared in the liberal El Tiempo a newspaper not known for being anti-American.
12/9/2004 : Alvaro Uribe to seek another term in office
Last week the Colombian Parliament amended the Constitution to allow the President to seek a second four-year term in office in 2006. With President Uribe in mind, a large majority passed the amendment after several months of debate. The reform has yet to be ratified by the Constitutional Court whose function it is to eliminate any eventual procedural flaws.
12/8/2004 : FARC Leader offers to be a negotiator
Ricardo Palmera, aka Simon Trinidad, a key FARC leader currently held prisoner and wanted by the US for drug trafficking and hostage taking, has offered himself as a negotiator to facilitate an exchange between prisoners and rebels.
12/6/2004 : Families of hostages receive in a positive way the new proposal by the Farc for a humanitarian exchange
"We hope that the response of the Government for negotiations will be positive", Yolanda Pulecio, the mother of Ingrid Betancourt said.
The mother of the ex-presidential candidate and parents of other hostages declared this Sunday that the new proposal of the guerrilla to only demilitarize two municipalities in the south of Colombia was positive
The FARC (revolutionary Forces armed with Colombia) considerably reduced the surface of the demilitarized zone which they requires from the Colombian government to negotiate there the release of their hostages, in exchange of more than captive 500 guérilleros .
The FARC asks the Church to take a driving role to promote the negotiations, but the rebels inform that the extradition of Simon Trinidadt (one of their leaders) to the United States would "seriously complicate" the possibilities for a humanitarian exchange.
12/3/2004 : Colombia pardons 23 FARC rebels
Colombia pardoned 23 left-wing rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), as the two sides negotiated a prisoner swap.
Yolanda Pulecio, the mother of former Green Party presidential candidate Betancourt, held by the FARC since February 23, 2002, hoped her daughter would be home for Christmas, which will also be her daughter's 43rd birthday.
"There is no way to express the ordeal we have been through," she said. "We have been completely powerless."
12/1/2004 : Colombian Congress Approves Uribe's Re-Election Bid
Colombia has amended its constitution to allow presidents to run for a second four-year term, El Tiempo newspaper reported Wednesday.
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