This economist article gives a little update on the FARC's most famous hostage: Ingrid Betancourt. Two weeks ago, the group presentation was about the FARC and they mentioned the often used tactic of kidnapping, as well as Ms. Betancourt being among the terrorist organization's hundreds of captives. This article says that Colombia's president (Uribe) has promised to release all FARC members held in state prisons once Ms. Betancourt has been released. (She is apparently in very poor health, having spent much of her years as a hostage either "held in chains or tied to a tree...some local officials suggested that she might be on a hunger strike"). France recently sent doctors to Colombia to give Ms. Betancourt needed treatment (her son says she needs a blood transfusion), and Mr. Uribe promised to temporarily disband the military in the area where Ms. Betancourt is held in order to give the French doctors a better chance at being allowed by the FARC to see and treat the prized prisoner.
Also, the current belief that the chances of securing Ms. Betancourt's release are higher than they have been in the recent past is a little ironic given the recent killing of Raul Reyes--the FARC's top hostage negotiator.
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3 comments:
One of the most common activities used by the FARC is the kidnaping of high profile people that work for the gov't. Htey want to obtain more control of the country and the gov't. The support of a great part of the population maks easier to get way with their operations.
I was reading through the comments that other readers had made on that "Economist" article and I found one particularly interesting. The reader said that the FARC will be less likely to let Ms. Betancourt go, because she is such a high-profile prisoner. In a way, she is putting the group in the spotlight, especially in France. Because of this, I think it will be much more difficult to get her released by the FARC. Furthermore, I think that if she is released, it will be very public, so that the leaders can take full advantage of having held such a well-known prisoner.
No matter what they choose to do, I think the FARC is in a win-win situation. The FARC is in the business of getting media attention and publicity. The more Ms. Betancourt's health declines, the more publicity the group will get. However, if they release her, they'll also get a lot of publicity for having done so. In the long run, I think it is to their advantage to hold on to her as long as possible because it will continue to be a stream of attention. If they let her go, a few months later, everyone will forget about the incident and they'll have to find a new way to get attention.
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