MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

The FARC guerrillas demand resignation of Colombian leader

FARC commander Raul Reyes

The Colombian Marxist-oriented guerilla group FARC has demanded the resignation of the country's president, Alvaro Uribe, to secure the release of hostages, among them the French-Colombian politician Ingrid Betancourt. The guerilla commander released the demand in a statement carried on the internet.

Betancourt's husband, Juan Carlos Lecompte said, "If Uribe resigns, that would guarantee the humanitarian accord, and I agree with that. The accord would have been signed years ago under a different President, and the hostages would have been freed years ago." Betancourt was captured in 2002 while campaigning for Colombia's presidency. Her release has been given top priority by the French president Nicolas Sarkozy. She was seized along with Clara Rojas, who was one of three hostages whose release had been promised just a day before the call for Uribe's resignation. In Paris, Ingrid Betancourt's family, politicians and other supporters rallied to call on President Uribe to renew negotiations with FARC. But observers believe the rebels' return to a hard line stance, a day after offering freedom to the three, suggests there will be no quick deal for the other captives' release. Earlier in the week from Bogota Colombia's Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo welcomed the FARC announcement but called for caution among relatives of the hostages, noting that the leftist group has failed to fulfill its word in the past. Restrepo said the government has no way to verify the announcement made by FARC leaders, and officials want to be very prudent for the sake of families and the Colombian public. Cuban news agency Prensa Latina which broke the news said it had received an email from rebel leaders claiming they would hand over three hostages, but only to Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez or one of his emissaries. It said those released would include a former congresswoman, an aide to former presidential candidate, Ingrid Betancourt, and her young son. Mr. Uribe's government has offered the FARC a 60-square-kilometer area where the two sides could come together unarmed to discuss the exchange of prisoners.