MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uribe admits Red Cross symbol used in rescue operation

Colombia army with the Red Cross in his shirt

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe admitted one Red Cross symbol was used in a daring and successful hostage rescue mission that took place two weeks ago.

One of the rescuers was wearing the symbol on a bib, Uribe said Wednesday in a nationally televised announcement that was also carried on radio. He described the wearing of the symbol as a slip-up. Such a use of the Red Cross emblem could constitute a "war crime" under the Geneva Conventions and international humanitarian law and could endanger humanitarian workers in the future, according to international legal expert Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association. Uribe said he was sorry for the mistake and had talked to Red Cross officials about it. He said the member wearing the bib had been nervous, and feared for his life. The ICRC mission in Bogota said in a written statement that it noted Uribe's announcement and it reminded all parties in Colombia that its emblem was protected by the Geneva Conventions. Colombian military intelligence used the Red Cross emblem in a rescue operation in which leftist guerrillas were duped into handing over 15 hostages, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Photographs of the Colombian military intelligence-led team that spearheaded the rescue, shown to CNN by a confidential military source, show one man wearing a bib with the Red Cross symbol. The military source said the three photos were taken moments before the mission took off to persuade the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) rebels to release the hostages to a supposed international aid group for transport to another rebel area. Ellis said the conventions were "very strict" regarding use of the symbol because of what it represented: impartiality, neutrality. "If you use the emblem in a deceitful way, generally the conventions say it would be a breach. [Based on the information as explained to me,] the way that the images show the Red Cross emblem being used could be distinguished as a war crime" Ellis added. The unpublished video and photos of the mission, hailed internationally as a daring success, were shown to CNN by a military source looking to sell the material. CNN declined to buy the material at the price being asked; it was therefore unable to verify the authenticity of the images. Uribe and his top generals had categorically denied that international humanitarian symbols were used in the July 2 rescue mission that freed the prized hostages.(CNN)