|
||||||
INTERVIEW WITH RAUL REYES, FARC LEADER
In an exclusive interview with Raul Reyes, the guerrilla leader plays down the possibility of a humanitarian exchange under the Uribe government. He also warns that the commission set up by the Catholic Church to facilitate an agreement cannot act on behalf of President Uribe.
The problems of the prisoners and hostages can only be resolved by means of a face-to-face meeting between the two parties.
Uribe however tried to create conflict between the French and Brazilian governments by organising a 'set up' in the case of Ingrid Betancourt.
By Dick Emanuelsson
20 APRIL 2005 - THE BASIS OF THE PATRIOT PLAN.
With President Uribe Velez in power there is no possibility of either an exchange or a humanitarian agreement between the prisoners and the civilian hostages. Moreover, the morale of the hostages is very low: "they are extremely dispirited". Raul Reyes, member of the Leadership Council of FARC stated this in the course of an interview in a rebel encampment in the south of Colombia, close to the epicentre of the Patriot Plan, a military action in which more than 20000 highly trained soldiers under the command of hundreds of US military advisers.
One of the main aims of this plan, which until now has only succeeded in swallowing up huge financial resources and caused many military losses, is to capture one or several members of the FARC Leadership. The other aim is to rescue at all costs the officers captured in battle by the guerrillas. Another object is to free civilians held prisoner to force the government to exchange them for rebel prisoners detained in jail.
This reporter asked the head rebel for permission to interview one of these prisoners held by the guerrillas. But the reply was an absolute negative. The reason given was that it would take too long to reach such a prisoner
This is an indication of the precautions taken by FARC so that neither the army nor the air force would be able to locate rebel forces.
WELCOME TO HELL
In January 1998, I was able to get to a rebel camp in the department of Putomayo in southern Colombia. Several weeks earlier FARC had captured and destroyed an army communications base in the south of Colombia. The base on Patascoy Hill was situated at 4200 metres altitude and it was thought that rebel forces would not be able to capture such base.
To be sent to the base was a punishment and many soldiers were sent there for that reason. The average temperature was -15C. Soldiers had posted up a sign at the entrance, which proclaimed: "Welcome to hell". For lots of soldiers captured there it was liberation, according to one of the guerrillas Pedro.
THE FIRST PRISONERS
As a result of various rebel attacks, tens of soldiers and officers were captured. That is how the nightmare started for some soldiers who were made prisoners of a war that has not yet finished. Today, still, various officers from Patascoy are still among the prisoners due to the disinterest of President Andréas Pastrana (1998 - 2002) and also to that of the current President, Uribe, in reaching an agreement with the rebels.
THE CAPTURE OF THE BASE CALLED "LES DELICES".
IN 1996, FARC had taken prisoners of war during an attack on the military base "Les Delices".
Almost 30 soldiers had been killed during a fierce battle and 67 had been taken prisoner. The following year in a unilateral gesture these had been returned to representatives of President Ernesto Samper after the latter had demilitarised the municipality of Chaira in the department of Caquetá despite open opposition from the military command.
Why capture soldiers and not ask for anything in exchange? In Colombian prisons hundreds of rebels rot; they too are also prisoners of war.
ISRAEL - PALESTINE.
These exchanges of prisoners between "mortal enemies" are rather common as has happened between Israel and Palestine. Why is such an exchange not possible between Colombians? asks one observer. A humanitarian agreement between the government led by Andreas Pastrana and FARC had happened in 2001 starting with the freeing of 54 soldiers and 14 supposedly ill rebels. This was an " arrangement " in order not to" demoralise the troops". Several months later FARC in a unilateral gesture freed more than 300 low ranking soldiers without a reciprocal gesture so as to kick-start the peace process then. But since then there has been no agreement to free hundreds of people.
URIBE GIVES NOTHING
President Uribe categorically refuses to free rebels who will not agree not to return to the rebel ranks. FARC states " Why should we waste time in useless negotiations so that we can unilaterally free prisoners of war to a State without getting anything back in exchange?" But the families won't stop demanding a humanitarian agreement, which would allow an exchange between those who suffer in prisons and those who resist the harsh jungle climate.
We asked commander Raul Reyes:
How many hostages are there and what condition are they in, currently?
" I do not know exactly how many there are but they have been in the jungle for many years. They include members of the army and police from Patascoy and other parts of the country. During the government of Pastrana the commander in chief of FARC, Manuel Marulanda demanded a humanitarian agreement that would lead to the freeing of all of these men. But the Pastrana government did not make any effort to do this. We only got a humanitarian agreement thanks to our own efforts and desire to give power to the peace process. We think that the humanitarian agreement allows us to strengthen peace talks.
" 14 sick rebels were returned to us, no more than that and we handed over more than 300 military personnel. We did this on the basis of a humanitarian agreement for people who were ill and in danger…"
"We would have preferred a lot more but Pastrana refused by using various arguments, none of which were convincing. But we agreed to liberate all these prisoners in order to give more impetus to the (peace) process. All had been captured in the course of battle. It is not certain that they were all captured while fighting, some had surrendered after running out of ammunition and had no other choice than to surrender with their guns.
OFFICERS AND THE CIA
"Those who remain prisoner today are military leaders, officers and sub lieutenants (among them a colonel, some majors, some captains etc) because all soldiers of lower rank have been freed".
"We are offering the officers in an exchange for the freedom of all our male and female comrades" " We are adding other persons, such as Ingrid Betancourt, the US CIA agents who were captured in their plane on a reconnaissance mission near the municipality of Paujil in the department of Caqueta. Added to these are twelve regional assembly representatives from Valle, the former governor of Meta, Alán Jara, several members of Congress, the Minister of State, Fernando Araujo, amongst others.
SIMON, SONIA AND RICARDO
"FARC's offer is to free all these people in exchange for the freedom of all rebels who are in government hands." "All these people deprived of their liberty are victims of an internal struggle in Colombia. For this reason, our offer has been put to the Colombian government, the negotiations that we have proposed; the freeing of prisoners of the two camps, must take place with the Colombian government. In this list of rebels we include of course Simon Trinidad, Sonia and Ricardo Gonzalez (Rodrigo Ganda) because they are members of FARC"
"To this end we proposed the demilitarisation of two municipalities in the departments of Valle del Cauca, Pradera and Florida. We are maintaining this position." What worries us in recent times is that Uribe has made the situation more complicated by extraditing Simon and Sonia. We will not withdraw our demand, we are keeping to it but our two comrades must be repatriated immediately because they are members of our forces that must be exchanged."
HOPELESSNESS
"I must say that the prisoners of the State of Colombia who are in the hands of FARC are extremely dispirited to see the time pass by and their president shows no interest in either their freedom or life. The government of Uribe merely tries to free them by force and doesn’t care if by so doing he endangers their lives."
"Our comrades who look after the safety (of their hostages) do everything in their power to protect them or to avoid their being caught in battle between the two sides, a battle that could have tragic or fatal consequences"
"We insist on the point that if the government refuses an agreement, if it is not interested in an agreement, well then we are going to allow the necessary time pass because we also need to obtain freedom for the rebels. In Colombia, there is an internal conflict and prisoners are the result of this conflict which is as much ours as theirs."
You said that some prisoners are extremely disheartened, what form does this take?
"It is a constant worry. Because you must see there are two sides. Female and male rebels have been in prison for many years, they are in despair too, because they are there and nothing is happening. They also have families, mothers, wives, or husbands, children, brothers etc. The government makes no effort to free them."
HOW LONG MORE?
The prisoners held by FARC have also got wives, sons, etc. They are in good health. FARC personnel look after their health, as they would do for any rebel when he is ill so that they would not have problems. But the prisoners say " time is passing and how long more will we be here?" That is the same question the rebels who are in prison ask. " How long more are we going to spend here in this prison when we have done nothing except struggle for our people and be members of a revolutionary organisation"?
LEPROSY IN THE JUNGLE.
According to army reports, in relation to the Patriot Plan, 4000 soldiers have leichmanioses (thought to be the sickness associated with guerrillas). Your prisoners in the jungle, how are they affected?
"That depends on the region in which they are located. In some regions the leishmaniose is treated with Clunantim. There are other sicknesses such as diarrhoea, malaria, influenza, gastric problems and other illnesses like those associated with the jungle".
A RESCUE AT ALL COSTS!
This despair that you mention, is it caused by the possibility of an eventual rescue effort at any cost by military means?
Yes, of course. They hear Uribe say he is not interested in an exchange, that he does not expect any reconciliation. They hear he wants to rescue them by force. They know that troops are present in some regions and so they know that at any moment they can try to rescue them by force and that in the midst of gunfire they run risks. They seem to be worried and dispirited."
You, as a member of the Ruling Council of FARC, perhaps can guarantee nothing but can act in such a way so that the prisoners might be well hidden to avoid becoming victims of a military rescue mission?
"If they had not been well "guarded", they would have already been rescued, Uribe is set on that. What happened was that the troops never found them. They never managed to find them.
That's why they never rescued them."
THE CASE OF INGRID BETANCOURT'S FAMILY; A SET UP BY URIBE.
Ingrid Betancourt's family said that a messenger from FARC, according to President Uribe himself who phoned Ingrid's mother, said that Ingrid had been ill and that the guerrilla wanted to free her "so as not to be responsible for her death" and that her family had gone to Letica to collect her. What comments do you have on this case?
"It is a big lie, dreamed up by Uribe. It was a way of making fun of Madame Yolanda and all the family and friends of Ingrid who wanted to see her freed".
Uribe did this to deceive the French government in the hope of causing conflict between the French and Brazilian governments (the two governments had refused to place FARC on a list of "terrorists", France finally gave into pressure from other EU leaders such as Aznar, (the then prime minister of Spain)".
CONFUSION IN BRAZIL
Ingrid's family asked for help from the French Embassy in Bogotá. The Embassy sent a plane to Manaus in Brazil to meet a contact in order to liberate this woman. The contact got 1500 dollars and never returned."
During this time, Brazil was asking why the plane had landed in Manaus without permission."
Having said that, it is a terrible thing that the set-up was only seen as a practical joke played on the family of Ingrid Betancourt who were deceived by this story of a messenger from FARC. FARC did not send a messenger and will not send any messenger to Uribe."
"FARC have given an official answer and we will negotiate on the basis of this offer when the situation has changed. We have nominated three comrades to negotiate on our behalf: Fabian Ramirez, Antonio Lozado and Felipe Rincón. These are the only persons authorised to deal with this, no one else."
URIBE MAKES LIGHT OF THE TRAGEDY.
Was the set-up in revenge against Lula (President of Brazil) for not having included FARC on the list of terrorist organisations?
"I don't know. On can imagine all the possibilities without any doubt. What we can say is that it was quite a job, a set -up on the part of the services of military intelligence in Colombia and nothing more."
Is Uribe playing with the feelings of the family in this tragedy as it involves her being detained in the jungle year after year"?
"Yes, indeed, there is a lack of respect towards Ingrid's family and their feelings and also towards the goodwill of the French government who has always been interested in helping to free Ingrid, because of her dual nationality, something that FARC were unaware of, before. Nobody knew that she had dual nationality."
THE CHURCH IS NOT REPRESENTING URIBE
There have been several offers from different sectors of Colombian society such as that of the Church, of persons who want to facilitate a humanitarian exchange. What significance have these proposals got? For example, on 9 January 2004, Monsignor Echeverria and Dario Castro wrote a second proposal for an exchange of all prisoners, stating that the rebels ought not to rejoin the rebel army. You received this proposal. What do you think of it?
"This proposal is not workable, as far as we are concerned."
Is it not negotiable?
"What we in FASRC see here is that the Church Commission is the facilitator. This Commission has not taken on a role of spokesperson and government negotiator. When we met up with them, they came as a neutral Commission of the Church and not as a representative of the government."
"If they had come as the representative of the government FARC would not have met them because FARC is not willing to talk with some one from the Uribe government as long as there are not any demilitarised zones. That is what I conveyed to Monsignor Castro and Father Echeverri. They know that."
"If an offer arrives, and if one does know if it is sure or not, a suggested agreement or a suggested proposal, that involves Uribe, as far as we are concerned that means nothing. Because FARC have nominated their spokesmen to go to talk, draw up and sign an agreement with the government representatives."
All the government did was to nominate Luis Carlos Rostrepo (as their representative). At no time did the government nominate the Catholic Church. And if some day the Catholic Church accepts that, then the Church will have to wait until a demilitarised zone is ready to get in contact with us, not before."
INTERNET, A SMOKESCREEN.
The spokesperson, Rostrepo proposed that FARC would negotiate by means of the Internet, what is your opinion of this?
It is a smokescreen to hide the negative attitude of the government. It is unacceptable. The meeting must take place face to face and the agreement will be signed between the two parties, never over the Internet."
Juan Carlos Lecompte, husband of Ingrid Betancourt, said, one year after Uribe had been president that if Uribe were re-elected "Ingrid and the other hostages would rot for seven years in the jungle". Is that what they face?
"I don't know what this man is referring to. But since we don't see any evidence of interest on the part of the government in an exchange, the prisoners are condemned to live there in those conditions. Who knows for how many more years?"
"Because FARC will never accept anything other than what I mentioned: the liberation of all the rebels including Simón, Sonia and Ricardo"
MESSAGE FOR THE FAMILIES
What message has you for the families of the prisoners who are now in the e jungle?
"FARC maintains their offer of an exchange. They are always willing to sign a proposal when the government agrees to our demands concerning a guarantee and when they repatriate Simon and Sonia/ Without this, an agreement is impossible."
"The families of prisoners can be sure that FARC will keep to this policy. It is not the FARC way or method " to make one offer one day and another the next". There is only one proposal".
"The families must not be duped by Uribe, by the High Commissioner or by military intelligence who say that FARC will make other offers in the future. FARC has made this offer and that is it."
"When an agreement can be signed because two municipalities have been demilitarised: Simon and Sonia repatriated, our comrades will approve and sign the agreement and will set about the freeing of all prisoners"
PROOF OF SURVIVAL
The families have also asked for proof of life. Some have got these after more than a year. What can you say to the families about this?
As soon as information can be collated we will provide proofs of survival. We cannot give proof of survival if that involves placing the prisoners at risks. It is preferable to delay getting such proof rather than expose the prisoners to pointless risks that FARC will not undertake."
Have you had contacts with representatives of government or of people from the US concerning the three CIA agents captured in February 2003 in Caqueta?
No, none.
Are FARC interested in establishing contacts with the US?
"FARC had contacts, several years ago with the US government. We met in Costa Rica with Philip Chicola, an envoy of the State department. A political exchange had started and later they decided to stop it unilaterally following the death of three native people from Arauca. Until now the door has been kept shut.
FARC have a policy of seeking to establish relations with all governments in the world without exception, even with that of the US. They are in conflict with us but the day they wish to establish relations with us, we will be willing.
But this time, we no longer want to do this in a secretive manner but openly. There are political links that must be made between two political bodies. They are a state and a power. We are a people who are in a conflict situation. If the American government is interested we are ready but it cannot be a secretive link in order to talk with FARC and discuss different subjects."
LOPEZ MICHELSEN
How do you see the different offers and statements made by former President Michelsen about a humanitarian exchange that was tough in his criticism of Uribe?
"Anything that is done to support the exchange, the humanitarian agreement, that can help an eventual exchange that leads to the desired objective, is good.
"Former President Lopez Michelsen made several reasonable statements, in this regard. But if something caused these declarations to be said, it is true that President Uribe has shown no interest in that. Because Michelsen demonstrated that international humanitarian law as well as Colombian law allows such an agreement. But Uribe refuses all arguments. He corroborates our view that as far as he is concerned, there is not any political will to bring about an exchange and a humanitarian agreement."
So what could bring about a change in this situation?
"A new government that would be interested."
With the Uribe government, this is impossible?
"We don't believe the government is interested. However we say we are maintaining our position. If at some stage it changes its position in favour of the demands of families, supporters of the exchange and of the prisoners themselves, we are willing to come to an agreement when our demands will have been met."
>Back