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"bridge of communication"
persvrijheid - 07.11.2007 21:02
Representatives Colombian Guerrilla Arrive in Venezuela for Humanitarian Accords.
November 6th 2007, by Chris Carlson – Venezuelanalysis.com
Mérida, November 5, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com)- Representatives from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) have arrived in Venezuela to meet with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, according to an announcement made by Chavez yesterday. The long-awaited meeting between the Venezuelan president and the FARC guerrilla group is a key step in Chavez' efforts to mediate in the Colombian conflict and obtain a humanitarian exchange of hostages.
The announcement came on Sunday during a political rally in Caracas in support of the proposed constitutional reform. President Chavez spoke to a massive crowd of supporters, and gave an update on the situation with the mediation efforts.
"Several representatives of the FARC just arrived. They have finally arrived to Venezuela to search for a solution to the humanitarian agreement, which is our task," he said. "I will meet with them either tonight or tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
Chavez indicated that the FARC representatives had managed to enter Venezuela without any problems. A previous attempt to hold a meeting between the FARC and Chavez was postponed in early October due to a lack of security for the FARC representatives to leave Colombia.
Chavez later called on the Colombian government of Alvaro Uribe to assist in securing that the representatives could travel outside of FARC territory.
Chavez mentioned that a representative from the French government of Nicolas Sarkozy is also in the country to take part in the meetings.
The French government has praised Chavez' efforts to mediate in the conflict, and has been involved in working towards an agreement because one of the hostages being held by the FARC, Ingrid Betancourt, is a French citizen.
In Paris, government representatives as well as family members of Betancourt expressed their hope in the current efforts of the Venezuelan president to obtain the release of the hostages. Family members said they consider the meeting between Chavez and the FARC to be the biggest advance towards solving the crisis in years.
"It is the most positive thing that has happened so far for the agreement," said Betancourt's mother Yolanda Pulecio. Family members also called on Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to "loosen" his position on the FARC to avoid frustrating Chavez' efforts.
French Minister of Foreign Relations Bernard Kouchner also expressed hope, and stated that there is "indirect proof" that Ingrid is still alive. "There exists hope. We have to continue. In any case we will dedicate ourselves intensely," he said.
Today, during a phone call to a nightly television talk show on the state TV channel, Chavez said that he had received a message from the FARC leader Marulanda that he would be willing to provide proof of life of Betancourt and other hostages the FARC holds. This, according to Chavez, is a first as the FARC has in the past always refused to provide such proof.
In preparation for this week's meeting, Chavez met with the so-called foreign minister of the Colombian guerrilla group, Rodrigo Granda. Granda was released from jail last June by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe as a part of the efforts to obtain the humanitarian exchange.
His release was requested by French President Nicolas Sarkozy so that Granda could travel to Havana and Caracas and facilitate the negotiations with the FARC. The Colombian government announced last week that Granda had arrived in Venezuela to build a "bridge of communication" between Chavez and the Colombian guerrilla group.
"We hope that this can further increase those channels of communication and that the FARC finally makes the decision, which is very important, that the person that is going to speak with President Chavez is very high level and capable of making decisions," said a Colombian government representative.
The immediate agenda of the negotiations is to obtain the release of 45 hostages in the hands of the FARC, in exchange for the release of some 500 imprisoned guerrilla rebels. The FARC, however, has also demanded the demilitarization of certain regions of the country as a part of the agreement.
Also being held are three U.S. citizens, contractors of the US State Department, as well as dozens of other politicians, police and military officials.
Chavez agreed to work on achieving an agreement a couple months ago at the request of the Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba. The Venezuelan president has also expressed a desire to go further than a humanitarian exchange, and work towards negotiating a solution to the decades-long conflict.
 http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/2805
http://www.globalinfo.nl/content/view/1377/30/
http://www.globalinfo.nl/content/view/1357/30/
http://meckiemessermuzak.blogsport.de/2007/10/10/baader-meinhof-muzak/
http://www.anderslautern.de/index.php?id=455
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