March 5, 2008 Rebel's Death Raises
Doubts
on Colombian Hostage Exchange
Buenos Aires
The Colombian conflict has developed into a loud regional diplomatic
crisis following the weekend killing of rebel leader Raul Reyes by
Colombian forces on Ecuadorian territory.
However, for all the talking, this atmosphere of tension is bound to
have the greatest impact on a group of people whose voices cannot be
heard: more than 700 hostages held by the leftist guerrilla group
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the most prominent
among them Ingrid Betancourt.
"Immediately, (the death of Reyes) can only complicate communication
with FARC. Can Ingrid Betancourt, who is apparently on the verge of
death, and her companions in misfortune stand the situation any
longer?" the French daily Le Monde asked Monday.
Raul Reyes was not only FARC's number two, but also the rebel
group's spokesman, and a man with abundant experience in talks with
representatives of the international community.
"Reyes was the man with the contacts with the press and with the
international community," Le Monde added.
The French daily is quick to note that FARC's number two "was not
considered soft," and that his successor could be more inclined to
concessions towards a humanitarian agreement. But that successor
will first have to be presented and consolidated, if not found.
"It will not be easy for the guerrillas to project another one of
its bosses as a representative before foreign countries," the
Colombian weekly El Espectador noted.
FARC hostages - some of whom have been held for over 10 years - may
by now be accustomed to waiting. But in their case, time means at
best inhumane treatment in the Colombian jungle, and at worst death
from illness or in combat.
Reyes was FARC's highest-ranking negotiator in peace talks with the
government of former Colombian president Andres Pastrana (1998-
2002), and travelled to several European countries with Colombian
authorities at the time.
He had high-level contacts with Colombian Senator Piedad Cordoba and
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez - who had brokered the releases of
six hostages in the past two months - and, Colombia authorities
claimed, with representatives of the Ecuadorian government.
He had dealt with envoys from France and Switzerland seeking to
bring on the liberation of former Colombian presidential candidate
Betancourt, who holds dual French-Colombian citizenship.
There is no doubt that Reyes was a well-established negotiator.
However, he was also the second-in-command of an insurgent group
that has fought the Colombian state for some 40 years, killing
thousands of people with a wide variety of means as indiscriminate
as anti-personnel landmines.
In an editorial Monday, the Colombian daily El Tiempo described the
rebel leader's death as "a fact that was received by the immense
majority of Colombians as a legitimate - and unprecedented - point
scored by the state in the long confrontation with FARC".
The daily further called the diplomatic outrage at the operation
itself "unheard-of and paradoxical".
Indeed, for many in Colombia, getting closer to the end of the
country's internal conflict - which El Tiempo recalled has caused
great pain to hundreds of thousands of people - is a priority above
securing the release of a few scores of FARC hostages.
El Espectador defined Reyes' death as "a blow to the heart of FARC"
and stressed the opinion that with it brought down "the myth that
members of the FARC leadership were invulnerable or that they died
of old age".
From Colombia's perspective in this dangerous game of South American
political poker, the undoubtedly strong blow dealt to FARC with the
killing of one of its top leaders beats the undoubtedly strong blow
dealt to the chances of a hostage release.
For Colombia, national security is being weighed against the human
tragedy of a few. For a majority of Colombians - who twice elected
Uribe as president without need for a runoff, on a platform based on
defeating the guerrillas militarily, without concessions - the
choice is clear, and it does not favour the hostages for all their
evident suffering.
Boloji.com is owned and managed by Boloji Media Inc Privacy Policy |
Disclaimer
No part of this Internet site may
be reproduced without prior written permission of the copyright holder.
