Colombia's Marxist FARC rebels freed an army
general and two other captives on Sunday,
paving the way for peace talks in Cuba to
resume in the quest to end five decades of
conflict.
President Juan Manuel Santos halted
negotiations in Havana two weeks ago after
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) seized five hostages, including General
Ruben Dario Alzate, disrupting the push to
end violence that has killed more than 200,000
people.
Santos refused to allow the talks, which had
advanced more than previous attempts, to
continue until the hostages were freed.
Alzate, Corporal Jorge Contreras and civilian
lawyer Gloria Urrego were released in a jungle
area near where they were seized in the
Pacific province of Choco .
The rebels freed two other soldiers captured a
week before the general on Tuesday, meaning
all five hostages have now been released. The
Red Cross said those released on Sunday were
fit to be flown by helicopter to the city of
Medellin .
"It's clear this decision contributes to
returning to a favorable climate for continuing
the talks (and) shows the maturity of the
process," President Santos said in a statement.
Santos said he would now meet his team of
negotiators to discuss their return to the two-
year-old peace talks in Cuba.
In a statement posted online on Sunday
confirming the hostages' release, the FARC
negotiating team in Havana reiterated its
demand for a ceasefire during peace talks, a
request Santos has repeatedly said is out of
the question.
"It's time for a bilateral ceasefire, for
armistice, so that no bellicose happening in
the battlefield justifies interrupting such a
beautiful and historic process like that of
agreeing peace for a nation which longs for
this destiny," the statement said.
It referred to the need "to redesign the rules
of the game" without clarifying what that
meant. A statement last week from FARC
leader Rodrigo Londono, known by nom de
guerre "Timochenko", said Santos had violated
a general agreement stating that the talks
must not be interrupted.
"A peace process which has gotten to this
level ... cannot be submitted to any type of
hurried and impulsive attitudes which will
stall the coming of our reconciliation," the
FARC negotiators said.
The FARC said a member of its negotiating
team, 'Pastor Alape' or Felix Antonio Munoz
Lascarro , had traveled to Colombia to ensure
the hostages' release went smoothly.
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