Several associations set up in support of Ingrid Betancourt held protest marches today in Paris and Brussels to ask the Colombian government to allow President of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez to resume his mediation efforts to further a humanitarian agreement with Farc.

”Farc will only agree to negotiate with Chavez in relation to freeing hostages held by them”, said Olivier Roubi, spokesman for the International Federation of Ingrid Betancourt committees, (FICIB).

The Federation organised this action, in which several dozens took part, outside the Colombian Embassy in Paris, to support the involvement of Chavez, of the Colombian Senator, Ms Piedad Cordoba and of French President Nicolas Sarkozy in efforts to free Ingrid Betancourt and the other hostages.

Roubi criticised Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s recent decision to terminate mediation by the Venezuelan Head of State and his proposal to create a “meeting zone” to allow talks with the guerrillas leading to a humanitarian agreement, stating “there was nothing new there”.

Farc already rejected this same proposal of Uribe’s in 2005” and this time although “we still await a reply”, they “will probably reject this again”, stated the Federation spokesman.

However he recognised some “progress” had been made in the Colombian situation with regard to the growing support in the Latin American continent. In this regard, the Federation praised the “appeals” made to “all” countries to help solve the Colombian hostage situation, made by Nestor Kirchner and his wife, Christina Kirchner, who takes over as President of Argentina today.

“The International Community, Europe can help but it is the Latin American countries who must act so that the hostages can be freed”, stated Jacques Capelle, who heads up the Federation in Normandy. The marchers handed in a petition to the Ambassador of Colombia, Mr Fernando Cepeda Ulloa, asking that Chavez resume his role as mediator and that all hostages be released in Colombia.

A similar march took place in Brussels also organised by the Federation. About 40 member s met in front of the Colombian Embassy and a delegation was received by the Ambassador. Accompanying the Federation members were representatives of major national unions and from the Alternative Democratic Pole of Colombia, a group representing several NGO’s who work on behalf of democracy and human rights in Colombia.

Advertising Hoardings promoting Tourism in Colombia anger Brussels City Council.

Some days after pictures of one of Farc’s hostages, Ingrid Betancourt were revealed, advertising hoardings promoting tourism in Colombia, on a major city thoroughfare are causing embarrassment for city authorities.

The 19 huge double-sided banners show pictures of Colombia and were funded by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Colombia. They were placed on the central median of Avenue Franklin Roosevelt. Several individuals have expressed their disapproval mentioning the case of Ingrid Betancourt.

Geoffrey Coomans de Brachene did not hesitate to convey “his unease at the promotion of a country whose record on basic Human Rights has been criticised by Amnesty International”.

Brussels and its region that is responsible for maintaining this avenue, which is seen as a regional link, are determined to have the advertising hoardings removed.