Outcry Over Uribe's Decision to Scuttle Hostage Talks

Caracas, November 23, 2007, (venezuelanalysis.com) - The unexpected
decision, Wednesday, by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to terminate
the mediating role of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in negotiations
to secure the release of 45 high-profile hostages held by the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), has prompted widespread
criticism in Colombia.

Families of the hostages reacted with shock and indignation as they
gathered outside the presidential palace in Bogot! on Thursday to
protest Uribe's announcement with banners and T-****rts emblazoned with
calls for peace talks and shouting for Chavez's return.

Jose Uriel Perez, whose nephew, Luis Alfonso Beltran, was captured by
the FARC in 1998, said, "We thought it was very brave what President
Chavez and Senator Cordoba did in three months compared to what the
government has failed to do in 10 years."

"Nothing touches this government: not the deaths, nor our mourning, nor
the pain the families of the kidnapped live with," he continued.

Juan Carlos Lecompte, husband of French-Colombian citizen and former
presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt, held by the FARC since 2002,
said Uribe had broken off the negotiations in a "brutal manner."

Fabrice Delloye, ex - husband of Betancourt, and father of her two
children, Melanie and Lorezon, agreed. "What outrages me about Uribe is
his permanent hypocrisy. He is always looking for a pretext to stall
the exchange of hostages for the imprisoned guerillas. He never stopped
putting obstacles in the way of previous efforts."

Polo Democratico Senator, Gustavo Petro said that with the measure the
Colombian government is condemning the hostages to death or indefinite
captivity. "Those who lose are the hostages. President Uribe cannot
continue reacting instinctively without taking into account the human
life that he is sacrificing."

The Comptroller General, Julio Cesar Turbay, governor of Valle de
Cauca, Angelino Garzon, and Colombian ex-president Ernesto Samper
Pizano (1994-1998) have also criticized Uribe's decision.

In addition to the French government, the National Council for Peace in
Colombia (NCP) and the Commission for Peace in the House of
Representatives have asked Uribe to reconsider his decision and meet
with president Chavez to continue dialogue.

The NCP has proposed three way talks between the Colombian, French and
Venezuelan presidents, to explore ways to continue advancing the
process for a humanitarian accord. However, Uribe insists that his
decision is irreversible.

According to Diego Quintero, the brother of Alberto Quintero, one of
eleven deputies kidnapped by the FARC and killed in disputed
cir***stances in July, Uribe has demonstrated "no political will to
advance a humanitarian accord."

Uribe announced the decision late Wednesday after U.S Ambassador
William Brownfield sharply criticized Chavez's mediation earlier that
day saying, "We are 2 months and 22 days into the negotiations, and we
still don't have proof of life [of the hostages]."

Brownfield, formerly Wa****ngton's top envoy to Venezuela before being
posted to Colombia, had particularly tense relations with Chavez, who
has charged the US diplomat with interfering in Venezuelan internal
affairs.

The United States supplies about $600 million a year in military aid to
Colombia and is hostile to the Venezuelan President, who US Secretary
of State, Condoleeza Rice has described as a "negative influence in the
region."

Uribe cited a phone call by Senator Piedad Cordoba to Colombian General
Mario Montoya, during which Chavez spoke to Montoya for approximately
one minute and asked how many Colombian soldiers were held captive by
the FARC, as the basis for terminating Chavez's mediation.

Chavez said he was surprised to hear the news early Thursday morning.
"We had advanced, we had positive expectations, we had spoken with the
families of the hostages, and now, for some reason that does not appear
as a reason to me, Uribe has decided in a unilateral manner, without a
phone call, without consulting us, nothing, to suspend the work we have
been doing," he said

However, he assured, "I respect the decision of president Uribe, but I
am very sad for Colombia. The path was opening up, with difficulty, but
there was a path opening up," he said. "It was the beginning of a
dialogue to try and bring peace back to Colombia."

Chavez said he hoped the Colombian president would change his mind and
reiterated his call to the FARC to deliver proof by the end of the year
that the hostages are still alive. The French government has also
repeatedly called on the FARC to provide evidence that Betancourt and
the other hostages are still alive.

However, Colombian Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos, who said the
negotiations would be resumed by Luis Restrepo Colombian High
Commissioner for Peace, argued that that proof of life is not necessary
to continue negotiations with the FARC. "Everyone knows that apart from
the 11 deputies that were assassinated by the guerillas, they are
alive. We do not require proof of life to make an exchange," Santos
declared.

Polo Democratico, the principal opposition party, accused the Colombian
government today of having no genuine interest in an agreement to
liberate the hostages and has called on unions, social movements, and
human rights organizations to mobilize against the government to
urgently demand an agreement for a humanitarian exchange. Under
pressure today Uribe has announced that he won't rule out the
possibility of hostages being received by Chavez, French President
Nicholas Sarkozy, or the Red Cross, if the FARC decide to liberate them
"unilaterally." 

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