Roberto Saens Vargas, brother of Alfonso Cano, the new leader of FARC and Yolanda Pulecio, Ingrid Betancourt’s mother spoke in an interview with El Espectador.

They have both been personally affected by the conflict with FAR. They met in the City Hall in Bogota when Ms Pulecio accepted, on behalf of her daughter Ingrid, the Civil Award bestowed by the City Council.

Robert Sáenz Vargas: I became involved with the Committee to free Ingrid in 2004.Most weeks we organise events in the city where people want to listen to our message. We only want support for the hostages; Ingrid has become their symbol. There’s no way we will forget the other hostages.

Yolanda Pulecio: There’s huge support in France for the campaign. Here in Bogota, some groups thought that by supporting the campaign to free Ingrid that they were opposing Uribe. That is not the case. So supporters of Uribe withdrew. Basically we support fundamental values such as life and liberty.

RSV: It’s difficult to understand how Yolanda’s work is anti-government; a mother does all she can for her daughter. Calls for Humanitarian Agreements are recognised all over the world; what we need is a humanitarian attitude. Of course there are grey areas but sometimes people think in black and white and that is not possible with this agreement.

YP: The political will is missing. The humanitarian agreement does not need to be negotiated in any particular place. All we need is a table and four chairs as former President Lopez (Michelsen) said.

RSV: We don’t understand the delays and will not become involved. The hostages remain in the jungle and wait for the rebels and the government to understand one another. We want a unilateral gesture, I cannot say this strongly enough.

YP: Now that Alfonso Cano is the leader of FARC, I hope something will happen, I don’t know why. I know he is an educated man and could choose political and democratic means.

RSV: I believe Alfonso and the new leadership might look at the possibility of a political proposal. I think they may have already examined it. What concerns us is the possibility that the new FARC leadership may spend another 20 years in the jungle without coming to a decision.

YP: What concerns and disturbs me very much is that people want to ‘brand’ all those who help us look for a humanitarian agreement by saying they support the rebels. Carlos Lozano, Alvaro Leyva, Gloria Ramirez and William Borja are now all seeking legal protection when all they wish to do is simply help. Why cause problems for these people? There is no justice. Neither do I understand why they tried to create a rift between Piedad Cordoba and myself. I am her friend and I know very well her work in this humanitarian cause. I don’t think she’s the type of woman who would ask FARC not to release Ingrid. Those opposed to us spin these lies.

RSV: These are issues that take from a debate that ought to concentrate on other aspects. They distract us from the possibility of an immediate release and a humanitarian agreement.

YP: The Colombian government only want to free hostages through military means. They are not interested in an agreement and every time this arises, false issues were created and so many others things I don’t wish to remember because they upset me.

RSV: I think that apart from the government’s rather hard line attitude, the rebels are also “stuck” with regard to their ideology. This interferes seriously with the possibility of a speedy reconciliation. We must work continuously so that this happens.

YP: It pains me greatly that there are police and military detained for so long and the State is not engaged in seeking a solution that would permit them to return to their families. Such a long absence is unbearable for the families.

RSV: In Colombia, I find some aspects concerning the agreement surprising. President Sarkozy is not exactly left-wing but he has no problem accepting it totally. If both sides accept this, each one from its own perspective clearly…. Please, that is a task that cannot be postponed. The agreement must have top priority and if the countries who are supportive want to help, the sooner the better!

One brother a peacemaker, the other a rebel.

He’s 56, fourth son in the Saens Vargas family. His real name is Guillermo Leon and he’s now head of FARC. His brother Roberto is a city councillor in Bogota. Both were children and teenagers together, each went his own way when the first chose to join the rebels and the second went into politics.

Guillermo Leon (or Alfonso Cano) left the Communist party to join the armed struggle. His brother left the same party to join the Patriotic Union and again as a civilian to the Alternative Democratic Pole party. They are both in the public eye in very different and opposing roles, peace and war.

Regarding Alfonso Cano (or Guillermo Leon Saens), his actual political position is unknown. But we know that Roberto Saens supports the humanitarian agreement at all costs, that he does not see the armed struggle as a way to achieve national reconciliation and hopes his brother will choose a negotiated solution.

Two leaders who will improves things in Colombia

Yolanda Pulecio was a beauty queen in 1955. After six years she had two daughters Astrid and Ingrid. Their father Gabriel Betancourt was a Minister in the government of Lleras Restrepo and a diplomat in UNESCO. He died in 2002.For years Yolanda Pulecio dedicated herself to setting up houses of refuge for abandoned children in Bogota. In the 80’s Yolanda Pulecio was a supporter of Luis Carlos Galan, was elected to the senate. Re-elected in 1991 but the National assembly then recalled Congress. After that she devoted her time to the children’s refuges she had set up, saying her period in politics was finished and the time had come for her daughter Ingrid to replace her in political life.

Ingrid Betancourt was a very well known politician. She was a member of the opposition when Semper was president and was critical of the peace process under Pastrana. In February 2002 Ingrid was kidnapped by FARC. She remains a hostage since then but she has become a symbol of the campaign against kidnapping. She personifies the humanitarian agreement and it is said that during her captivity she is working on a plan for government.