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For a daily review of the press on
Colombia, see www.betancourt.info
Nov. 29, 2007
Finally a proof of life...
Because of the continuous changes in the public declarations of the belligerants, their false promises, their false intentions to negotiate, etc. we have decided not to be a relay of their public appearances anymore and to wait for a real negotiation process, a real willingness to find a solution to the hostage crisis...
February 23, 2007
It has been 5 years since Ingrid Betancourt and Clara Rojas were abducted… 1,826 days. Like the 4,000 hostages detained in Colombia (about 1000 of which are believed held by the FARC guerillas), Ingrid and Clara watch years go by with their lives in the hands of the abductors.
Beyond the polemics about who is doing or not doing whatever it takes to liberate them, we invite you to a moment of reflection to measure the time that the hostages have already sacrificed… Think about all the things you have done in the last 5 years, all the moments of joy and despair that you have lived, that you have shared with your loved ones. The hostages have not had this opportunity. No prospects for them, no possibility to even make plans, let alone share with their families. Imagine the pain of the families, spouses, kids, parents. Imagine the injustice of the absence, can we even imagine it?... 5 years. Seems like a lot… And yet, some of the hostages have been detained for over 10 years… The soldiers captured during the taking of the Las Delicias army base in August 1996 for example…
Today, we are bitter, like all those who, according to their abilities, have tried to contribute to the liberation of Ingrid, Clara and the others. For we must remember that Ingrid Betancourt is not the central person of the hostage crisis (all hostages are and should be considered equals) but she is its symbol. Because of Ingrid Betancourt, the hostages have a face and a voice. Because of her, the hostage crisis is regularly mentioned the media around the world and in high-level international political meetings. Because of her, a wide-spread international movement of solidarity has sprung up. Yet, what has changed? The situation seems to be at a standstill, as the belligerents – with the FARC, those responsible for the abduction, at the forefront – appear content to adopt a wait-and-see approach …
What has changed in the past 5 years is that now, no one can say: I did not know. 5 years ago, the hostage crisis (and the Colombian conflict in general) was rarely mentioned, barely known outside of Colombia. But today? Hundreds of committees have flourished around the globe. How many solidarity events, support campaigns, political contacts took place?… In Colombia, France, Belgium, Canada… Hundreds, thousands. Witness the 1750 cities around the world that have made Ingrid Betancourt an honorary citizen!
Today, no one can say that they do not know that thousands of hostages are rotting away in the jungle, slowly, day after day…
DECEMBER 14, 2005
President Uribe said he supports the proposal presented yesterday by France, Switzerland and Spain in a document titled "Security system for a humanitarian encounter in the Central Cordillera". President Uribe would accept to demilitarize a 110 sq. mi. zone. The demilitarization of the negociation area has been a recurrent demand by the FARC destined to ensure their negotiators safety. Nonetheless the size of 110 sq. mi. is well under their demands.
Even if we might be tempted to cheer president Uribe's acceptance, we must remain cautious. The President has disappointed us many times making public declarations that seemed to go in the right direction then systematically killing all attempts to bring parties together.
One must ask oneself why the president decided to make his acceptance public before he received an answer from the FARC. This is a method that observers of the Colombian situation know well and which generally is used to... torpedo negotiations. The president public statement was indeed denounced by Ingrid Betancourt's mother which revealed today that the FARC have known of the proposal for some time now and are yet to give an answer.
Therefore it is tough to be more than moderately optimistic, but let's hope this time that we are on the right track...
FEBRUARY 2005
Thanks to the efforts of Jacqueline Depoix of our committee, Ingrid Betancourt is nominated Honorary Citizen of Longueuil (Quebec).
JANUARY 2005
An emissary of the FARC who was in Caracas to meet with Swiss citizens to discuss the release of the hostages was abducted in broad daylight and brought back to Colombia. This operation organized by the Colombian authorities turned into a diplomatic incident between Venezuela and Colombia.
OCTOBER 23, 2004
Ingrid Betancourt's mother received a phone call from a doctor who was requisitioned by the FARC to treat Ingrid. He told her that Ingrid Betancourt went on 3 hunger strikes and that they had to tie her up to administer her a serum and save her life.
AUGUST
August 18, president Uribe makes public an offer he made to the FARC a month afo in which he would accept to free 50 guerilleros in exchange for all "exchangeable" hostages, i.e. 60 members of congress, militaries, politicians and 3 Americans. It is the first time that Uribe talks about releasing guerilleros which he has always refused to consider to "not demoralize the army". Conditions are fairly restrictive: to be eligible for freedom, guerilleros need not have blood on their hands and need to accept to either leave the country or enter into a reinsertion program. The FARC responded a few days later that these conditions were unacceptable.
FEBRUARY 23
17th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets of Montreal. See all details on our page dedicated to our walks.
JANUARY 23, 2004
16th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets of Montreal.
DECEMBER 23
15th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets of Montreal.
NOVEMBER 23
14th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets of Montreal and 2nd walk in Sherbrooke.
OCTOBER 23
13th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets of Montreal and 1st walk in Sherbrooke.
SEPTEMBER 23
13th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets of Montreal.
AUGUST 31
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Clara Rojas, the long-time friend and campaign director
of Ingrid Betancourt who declined to be freed by her kidnappers
to remain with Ingrid betancourt, is alive and apprently well,
according to a video shown on Colombian TV tonight.
In this video, she describes her daily activities and explains
that they have changed camps 25 to 26 times since their abduction.
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AUGUST 30
"I am alive and well"
said Ingrid Betancourt in a video broadcast today by Colombian
TV Noticias Uno.
In this video, Ingrid Betancourt mentions last May's daeth
of Medellin Governor, Guillermo Gaviria and of the ex-minister
of defense Gilberto Etcheverri, executed by the FARC following
a rescue attempt by the Colombian army; It is the sole indication
that allows to date the tape. In the video, Ingrid Betancourt
appears alone. No news from Clara Rojas are given at any time.
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In this 22 minute recording, Ingrid Betancourt considers
that the liberation of the political hostages like herself, is the
sole responsaibility of the rebels. The FARC " must make a
unilateral gesture of peace, ie free the hostages for humanitarian
reasons" she explains.
She also declares being favorable to a military intervention
to rescue her: "One cannot give up his rights, his freedom,
even by carefulness. A rescue, yes, absolutely yes, but not any
rescue: a successful rescue"... "Such a decision has to
be taken by president Uribe himself in his conscience, not by the
army because it is a political decision not amilitary one"
She also urges the Colombian autorities to exchange emprisoned
rebels against soldiers and politicians detained by the FARC. "The
exchange is a moral obligation of a democratic state" she said.
On the other hand, she declares being "opposed to a humanitarian
exchange between civilians and guerilleros". "It is a
position of principes and I wish my family can understand it".
Talking about the 3 americans detained by the FARC, Ingrid Betancourt
says she is not worried because she knows that "the United
States will get them freed whereever they might be".
She expressed her thanks to the French Government, the French ambassador
in Colombia and the French Foreign Affairs minister.
Ingrid Betancourt's mother, Yolanda Pulecio, said to the French
magazine "Le Nouvel Observateur" that this video was received
with "great relief". With a voice torn by emotion, she
said she was scared by a military intervention but she says she
is "favorable at last" to such an intervention, as her
daughter wishes.
"If President Uribe wants to intervene, so be it but he
should do it with extreme carefullness because I am terrorized."
after she wished to see her daughter alive, as any hostage family
of Colombia.
AUGUST 23
11th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets
of Montreal. See all details on our page dedicated
to our walks.
JULY 23
10th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets
of Montreal.
JUNE 23
9th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets
of Montreal.
MAY 23
8th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets
of Montreal.
MAY 20
Our campaign
to inform the Canadian politicians is now finished. More than 800
letters were sent to Canadian MPs and to the Minister of Foreign
Affairs.
MAY 7
Following the execution by the FARC of 10 hostages including the
governor of Medellin, Guillermo Gaviria and the ex-Defense Minister
Gilberto Etcheverri, apparently triggered by an attempt to rescue
the hostages by the Colombian army, the family of Ingrid Betancourt
issued a
press release condemning the attempt made to rescue the hostages
and their assassination. The family calls upon both parties to quickly
start negotiations for a humanitarian accord.
APRIL 23
7th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets
of Montreal. Also in Quebec City.
MARCH 23
6th walk for Ingrid, Clara and all the other hostages in the streets
of Montreal. Also in Quebec City.
MARCH 13
The FARC, through Raoul Reyes its spokesman, responded to written
questions from a journalist and said "Ingrid
Betancourt is alive and in good physical condition".
They add that she is "stimulated by the initiatives taken by
the French government to obtain her liberation as well as those
by her family, starting with her mother, her husband and her children".
No mention of Clara Rojas in the article. Read
the article.
FEBRUARY 23
Our 5th walk took place in the streets of Montreal. It's been a
year since Ingrid and Clara have been kidnapped.
FEBRUARY 17-18
Mélanie Delloye, daughter of Ingrid Betancourt, is in Montreal.
Her enthousiasm, her courage and her determination make the temperature
go from -25°C to +2°C in 2 days. A 2-day marathon which allowed
her to meet Bill Graham, Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister in Ottawa,
as well as make 9 interviews on radio, 2 on TV et 3 to the press
to finally be the center of attention of our conference at the University
of Montreal. See our summary of her visit.
JANUARY 23, 2002
Our 4th walk took place in the streets of Montreal by -30°C.
DECEMBER 25
Christams day is also Ingrid's birthday...
DECEMBER 23
Our third walk in Montreal was a great success.
DECEMBER 20
Today is Carla's birthday...
NOVEMBER 29
See the interview
of Ingrid Betancourt's sister, Astrid, to Cyberpresse.ca (in
French). Astrid talks about the Feb. 23 deadline given by the FARC
for the success of the negotiations. She says: "Everything
needs to be done so that Ingrid can be freed before Feb. 23. We
are terribly concerned about the deadline(...). Christmas time will
obviously be a slow period for us, but at the beginning of January
something spectacular needs to happen. Concrete steps need to be
taken. I don't question president Uribe's politic will, but the
international community needs more than ever to put pressure on
his governement to accelerate the negotiation process and obtain
that the hostages be freed as soon as possible."
NOVEMBER 23
Second walk in Solidarity with Ingrid Betancourt in Montréal
and first walk at the same time in Quebec CIty.
NOVEMBER 22
Mr. Antoine Dubé, M.P. for Lévis-et-Chutes-de-la-Chaudière
invite all Canadians to participate to our monthly walks at the
Chamber of Commons.
OCTOBER 23
First walk in solidarity with Ingrid. See all details on our page
dedicated to this event.
OCTOBER 7
Even though there are rumors that she's dead, it seems Ingrid is
alive although maybe sick. As if our concerns about her health were
not enough, the Colombian army killed the FARC leader who was behind
her kidnapping (although his group was not detaining her anymore).
It tells us that the fights are very close to the area where Ingrid
is detained. The Colombian government confirmed that they localized
her.
As soon as she was abducted, Ingrid Betancourt's family urged the
governement to not use force to try to free her. The government
repeated in the medias this week that it was not in their intentions.
The FARCs reacted by sending a press release accusing the government
to jeopardize the life of the hostages by their actions. We are
very concerned about this situation: both parties are playing with
fire but if the fire catches, it will be nobody's fault...
OCTOBER 4
| Ingrid Betancourt Canadian
Support Committee met with the Honorable Bill Graham
to give him the 50,000 signatures collected in our petition
campaign.
Mr. Graham said he was very impressed by the number of signatures
and reaffirmed the government support and willingness to help
free Ingrid and Clara. It was our second meeting with M. Graham
after the meeting we had with him in June, while Ingrid's
sister Astrid was visiting Canada.
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3 SEPTEMBRE
Vous avez été nombreux à nous demander comment
contribuer financièrement à la libération d'Ingrid
et Clara. Nous avons donc décidé de créer une
fondation nous permettant de recueillir vos dons. Pour en savoir
plus, voyez notre page Faire
un don.
SEPTEMBER 3
Many of you asked us in the last few weeks how you could contribute
financially to our action. We created a foundation to receive your
donations.
AUGUST 23
Juan Carlos Lecompte, Ingrid's husband, writes this letter
to the FARC.
AUGUST 7
Uribe is sworn into power. It was about time! The former President
Pastrana's conduct was unworthy of a President of the Republic when
Ingrid and Clara were abducted and maybe even more after. Shortly
after the kidnapping, he sent his Defense Minister to tell Yolanda
Pulecio Betancourt, Ingrid's mother, that his soon-to-leave government
would not do anything to free her. This "soon-to-leave"
government still had 6 months left in power! Astrid Betancourt,
Ingrid's sister, told us when in Montreal: "We were at the
end of February. The new President would only be sworn in August
7. We then realized that right there Ingrid and Clara had already
lost 6 months of their lives". Let's hope that the new President
will be up to our expectations. He already showed more compassion
than his predecessor by visiting Yolanda and Astrid the day after
his election.
JULY 24
The FARC released a video showing Ingrid and Clara. The tape was
recorded May 15. Emasciated, tired, Ingrid accuses the governmenet
of letting the country and hostages down. She asks the General Prosecutor
to launch an enquiry regarding her abduction by the FARC. She asks
for International mediator'shelp to end the guerilla which killed
40,000 people in the last 10 years.
JULY 10
Ingrid is made honorary citizen of POINTE-FORTUNE, TRÈS-SAINT-RÉDEMPTEUR
and SAINTE-MARTHE. For a complete listing of cities around the world
which made Ingrid click here.
JULY 5
Ingrid is made honorary citizen of TERRASSE-VAUDREUIL.
JUNE 22
See Astrid Betancourt's portrait by Nathalie Petrowski (La
Presse) in French.
JUNE 14
Astrid Betancourt and the Ingrid Betancourt Canadian Support Committee
were warmely welcomed by the Honorable Bill Graham, Minister of
External Affairs. Mr. Graham committed himself to talking to the
new elected President Uribe of Colombia during his visit in Ottawa
next week. The objective is to put pressure on M. Uribe so that
he makes a high priority of Ingrid's release when he arrives into
power August 7.
Immediatelyt after our meeting, the Department of Foreigh Affairs
issued a press
release demanding Ingrid Betancourt's release.
JUNE 13
Astrid Betancourt, Ingrid's sister, and the Ingrid Betancourt Canadian
Support Committee received a warm welcome from Caroline St-Hilaire
PM for Longueuil. Mrs St-Hilaire has been working for several weeks
on the Ingrid Betancourt's file. A Press Conference is held at the
house of Commons, with the participation of all parties represented
at the house of Commons.
Excerpts from the declaration of the Ingrid Betancourt Canadian
Support Commitee at the Press Conference:
The Ingrid Betancourt Canadian Support Committee is a committee
of volunteers which was created spontaneously after Ingrid betancourt
and Clara Rojas were abducted on Feb 23. Let's remind everyone
that Clara insisted to accompany Ingrid who was being taken alone
by the guerillas.
The Ingrid Betancourt Canadian Support Committee is a non-political
committee and we are particularly proud to witness here today
the presence of all parties represented in the House of Commons
(...).
Finally, how not to mention the courage and great dignity
showed by Ingrid and Clara's families? The abduction is not the
only painful experience they had to go through recently. Ingrid
and Astrid's father passed away one month after the abduction,
without ever talking to her daughter again.
To Melanie and Lorenzo, Ingrid's children, to Ingrid's family
and to Clara's family, we want to express our simpathy and determination
to be with them in these difficult moments.
Ingrid and Clara, we are not letting you slip from our minds...
JUNE 11
The House of Commons in Ottawa unanimously votes a motion demanding
the immediate and unconditional release of Ingrid Betancourt as
well as of all civilians detained by the FARC and supporting in
that regard Ingrid Betancourt Canadian Support Committee. This motion
was initiated by Mrs Caroline St-Hilaire, Member of the Commons
representing Longueuil.
Ingrid Betancourt is made Honorary Citizen of PINCOURT.
JUNE 5
The National Assembly in Quebec City passed a unanimous motion
demanding Ingrid betancourt's release.
Read the
communiqué from the Cabinet of the National Assembly President
(in French).
VAUDREUIL-DORION est la troisième ville au Canada à
nommer Ingrid Betancourt, citoyenne d'honneur.
MAY 27:
Uribe was elected President of the Colombian Republic with 53%
of the ballots in the first round. Ingrid Betancourt collected 0.5%
of the ballots.
MAY 14:
VAUDREUIL-SUR-LE-LAC and LORRAINE have made Ingrid Betancourt,
an honorary citizen of their town. A big thank you to the members
of both town councils who were not afraid to lead the way in Canada.
MAY 3:
In France, 82 Parliamentary Members have signed a petition demanding
Ingrid's release.
APRIL 17:
El Tiempo, one of the major newspapers in Colombia mentioned the
international compaign conducted on the Internet to demand Ingrid's
release in a short article in its Politics section. See the original
article or its automatic
translation. This can barely be considered a success but this
confirms that if together we can make this campaign bigger, the
Colombian people will eventually hear about it! Have people sign
the petition and continue to spread
the word!
APRIL 5:
Since the kidnapping, news is rare and hard to verify. Ingrid and
Clara are apparently alive in the hands of FARC Front 15. They would
like to trade them, together with five members of Parliament, for
political prisoners.
Assasinations and kidnappings are on the increase these days: the
Cali Archbishop and a Colombian Member of Parliament are among the
victims.
Refer to www.betancourt.info
for a daily follow up of this issue (automatic translation from
French).
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