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About LinkBacksIngrid Betancourt remains in chains in the jungle in a terrible state;lets hope her health will last long enough for FARC to release her and others. Farc have 'friends'in Ireland too, and not just customers for their white powder.
Ingrid Betancourt remains in chains in the jungle in a terrible state;lets hope her health will last long enough for FARC to release her and others. Farc have 'friends'in Ireland too, and not just customers for their white powder.
You may not. I was being sarcastic.Originally Posted by monsieur
[color=#FF0000]"The minarets are our lances, the domes our helmets, the believers our army."[/color]
-Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 1997, on Mosque construction in Europe
C'est bien dit. You're right. Regrettably this is not the forum on which to name and shame them.
But could we say that some of them hang around Parnell Square in Dublin?
So they release TWO and kidknap another SIX!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7188997.stm
To quote:
So much for all the good will and publicity Chavez hoped to generate. Farc have made a fool for him for a second time. Columbian/Venezuelan diplomatic relations are in tatters and the terror goes on. This really is a mess.But in a sign of Colombia's continuing kidnapping problem, six tourists were seized on Sunday, officials said.
The question has been asked: What can Ireland do? The answer is much more than has been done until now. For instance, do Sin Fein and the IRA not have any influence with the FARC, to encourage them to learn from the Irish Peace Process? Do both Fianna Fail and Fine Gael not have influence in the USA which could be used to persuade the Colombian Government to be more reasonable/less intransigent? What has John Gormley done to support his captive Green colleague, Ingrid Betancourt?
It is good that Clara Rojas has been freed, a beginning but far from the end of Colmbia's long drawn-out tragedy.
Instead of belittling Hugo Chavez's efforts, he is to be commended for trying.
Yours,
"Metetito"
This is absurd. Do you think the Colombian government during the IRA campaign should have asked the Irish government to be "less intransigent" with Eddie Gallagher when he held the Dutch businessman, or with the people who had captured Tidey?
Ridiculous.
Kim Chi misses the point: It was because of the Colombian Government's intransigence that Ingrid Betancourt was denied use of a helicopter to seek fair-play in a meeting with the FARC, resulting in her kidnapping. It is the IRA, with Sinn Fein, who might exert influence with the FARC to treat seriously peace proposals (provided always that the Colombian Government, supported by the USA, would likewise act in good faith). Over-optimistic probably, but not ridiculous.
Are the Columbian government also responsible for not providing her with roller skates to aid her expected attempt escape from FARC? Same thing.
FARC only released the two women last week because they HAD to - after the debacle over New Years - hugely embarrassing Chavez and alienating a lot of other leftist Latin American leaders (who had all gathered in Villavicencio for the handover that never took place) - and the DNA tests that proved they never had one of the 3 hostages they had promised to "hand over" in the first place - this release was a cynical attempt to try to win back SOME level of respect. If they hadn't released them no one ever would have taken them seriously at the negotiating table again - a group that promises what it can't deliver and then tries to blame the government (as usual).
The release of these two, sadly, is not the beginning of a new era for FARC, especially in light of the 6 new kidnappings this past week - I'm not sure why after 40 years of these kind of games, anyone thinks that they can be trusted at a negotiating table.
What they want is the return of many of their leaders who have been captured and are in prison, a couple of whom have actually been extradited to the US for drugs offenses - so not likely they are going to be returned since it's not in the Colombian government's power to do so - classic FARC - offer to make a deal but then make the conditions impossible, so that they can say "but we offered!" - all of these people are guerrillas, i.e. combatants, as opposed to people like Clara Rojas and Ingrid Betancourt, and the 6 (including one Norwegian) captured this past week who are civilians and have nothing to do with the conflict. There is a huge difference. Read some of the letters that other hostages sent back to their families with the two released women - they are horrific and sad.
I WISH so much that the events of the last few weeks meant that the FARC was ready to come the negotiating table - but nothing I have seen gives me much hope of that.
Interestingly - the ELN - the other leftist guerrilla movement is continuing to pursue talks with the government - slowly - but at least there are talks.
As for Chavez's calls for FARC to be taken of the terrorist list - how can an armed organisation that makes it a regular practice to kidnap innocent civilians (non-combatants) for ransom and/or political influence NOT be considered terrorist???
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