Bern hails Farc rebel release

Rodrigo Granda (right) makes a dash for freedom Keystone

Switzerland has welcomed the release of a high-ranking member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) by the Colombian government.

Bern has been working with Spain and France for a number of years to bring the leftwing rebel group to the negotiating table with Bogota and says the latest development shows progress.

Rodrigo Granda, dubbed the rebels’ “foreign minister”, was freed late on Monday as part of a wider-reaching initiative to release Farc prisoners to help secure the freedom of hostages taken by the guerrilla group.

The Swiss foreign ministry on Tuesday issued a joint statement with Paris and Madrid, hailing the Colombian authorities’ move.

“France, Spain and Switzerland welcome the release of Rodrigo Granda by the Colombian president and consider it an important initiative. The Colombian authorities have shown with this act their willingness to effect a humanitarian exchange,” the statement said.

Since December 2005, Switzerland, Spain and France have been involved in mediation efforts aimed at winning the release of 500 rebels and 57 civilian hostages.

French request

According to the Colombian president, Alvaro Uribe, the decision to release Granda from prison was made at the request of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Uribe added that he hoped that releasing Farc prisoners would motivate the rebels to liberate up to 60 hostages. The government plans to free a total of 180 guerrillas in the coming days.

Sarkozy has been working to secure the release of politician Ingrid Betancourt since taking office. Farc rebels took the dual French-Colombian citizen hostage in 2002 while she was campaigning for the Colombian presidency.

For its part, Farc has rejected Uribe’s overtures and has ordered its jailed members not to accept release. It has called Uribe’s plan “a trick”.

In May a Colombian policeman held hostage by the leftist rebels for almost nine years escaped from his captors.

Jhon Frank Pinchao said that he had been held in a camp with Betancourt and three American intelligence agents.

swissinfo with agencies

Key facts

The Colombian government and the 17,000 strong leftwing rebels, Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), have been fighting each other for four decades.
The 57 hostages are but a few of the estimated 3,170 kidnap victims held by the Farc, other rebel groups and criminals in Colombia, according to government figures.
The guerrillas were organised in the 1960s to force land reforms and other measures meant to close the wide gap that separates rich and poor in the Andean country.
They are said to fund their operations with extortion, kidnapping for ransom, drug smuggling and contraband gasoline.