Former President Turbay reminded the public that the tragic loss of liberty affects more than a thousand Colombians and not just the 63 who FARC propose to "exchange".

Turbay asked President Alvaro Uribe that in any dealings to be made with rebels regarding the issue of hostages that the case of non-political hostages ("economic" hostages) would be included.

Some relatives of hostages had asked him to negotiate to obtain their freedom.

According to the former President, there are, currently in Colombia, 1,016 people in the hands of FARC who demand a ransom averaging 35,000 euro (100 million Colombian pesos) per person.

Turbay's suggestion is that for every rebel liberated, FARC will liberate, in return, 10 hostages (either political or economic).

In addition, he asks that relatives of hostages other than political hostages be present at any talks.

According to the Foundation ' Free Country' that maintain the "Database of the National Foundation for the Defence of Personal Liberty", 7,405 kidnappings have been reported in Colombia between January 2000 and 2005.

The figures include kidnappings carried out by all groups of insurgents and by criminal gangs.

To give greater weight to his suggestion, this afternoon, Julio César Turbay sent a letter to President Uribe in which he wrote: "In the Colombian situation winners and losers cannot be distinguished accurately and so consequently it is difficult to obtain freedom for hostages by methods other than those based on an agreement through goodwill, that can be achieved in conditions that do not endanger public order, to secure the immediate rescue of innocent victims of the conflict…"

In is letter he added: "There is no doubting the fact that it is the Government that has legitimacy but from the point of view of International Human Rights, this legitimacy is of no advantage. The agreement is a means to resolve situations like those of Colombia, where forces have been fighting for more than 40 years in search of a military victory that they have not yet been able to obtain."