FARC Release Hostages as Peace Talks Seem Less Distant

Yesterday Colombia's FARC rebels released the last of their security force hostages, a group of ten police officers and soldiers who have been held for more than 12 years. Although initially it was believed that only five would be released yesterday, all ten were handed over in the joint operation orchestrated by the Colombian and Brazilian governments, the ICRC, and Colombianos y Colombianas por la Paz.

The men were picked up in a Brazilian military helicopter, and taken from the jungle to the city of Villavicencio, where they were reunited with relatives and appeared before television cameras waving Colombian flags and punching the air. Afterwards they were flown to Bogota, where President Juan Manuel Santos gave a speech welcoming their return.

While the release has been widely seen as a sign that negotiations between the government and the guerrilla group are not far off, Santos tempered these hopes somewhat by declaring that the incident was “not enough” to start direct peace talks, according to El Tiempo. Santos then called on the rebels to also free the hundreds of civilian hostages they possess, saying “You must release the kidnapped civilians still held, and must account to the families of each and every one of them.” According to the Fundacion Pais Libre, a Colombian NGO, there are some 405 civilians currently held by the FARC.

If there are to be negotiations in the near future, there is much speculation over what the next step should be in the process. Semana Magazine has a roundup of several ex-officials’ and commentators’ opinions on the matter. La Silla Vacia claims that the FARC will now expect the government to show some good will towards the group’s imprisoned members, allowing peace group to visit them and monitor their conditions. Former Justice Minister Jaime Castro told El Tiempo that the government will want to negotiate privately and outside the country with the rebels, likely without declaring a ceasefire.

While the status of peace negotiations is unclear, unless the FARC offer a major gesture of peace (like freeing its civilian hostages) it is highly improbable that talks will occur before 2014, when President Santos is expected to run for re-election. In a second term, he would not be so concerned about his political image and thus have much more elbow room to broker peace.

More from the New York Times, WSJ and LA Times.

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