Colombian guerrillas on Thursday released a video of a soldier kidnapped nearly 12 years ago, a step that could help set the stage for the release of the gaunt, frightened-looking hostage.
Pablo Moncayo is among 24 soldiers and police held by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, a cocaine-financed peasant army that has been fighting the government since the 1960s in the name of Marxism.
Proof-of-life videos often are produced by the guerrillas ahead of hostage releases.
DISORIENTED
In the video, Moncayo was seated with a green tarp stretched behind him to hide his jungle location. His voice often trailed off and he appeared disoriented at times.
Moncayo was snatched by the rebels when they attacked the mountain communications post where he was stationed as a 19-year-old corporal in December 1997.
Opposition Senator Piedad Cordoba has been designated by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to help mediate the release of the hostages, who at times appear stuck in a political tug of war between the leftist senator and the strong-willed conservative president.
Cordoba has participated in past hostage releases at the behest of the FARC. She said Moncayo should be freed within a month, once the logistics of a handover are worked out.
CAMPAIGN
The FARC agreed earlier this year to release him after his father, Gustavo Moncayo, led a campaign for his freedom, wrapping himself in chains and walking throughout Colombia.
However, the handover has been bogged down in negotiations between the guerrillas and Uribe, a US-ally popular for his hard stance against the FARC.
When Moncayo’s video was broadcast on television, his parents told reporters they did not recognize his face on the screen until he started talking.
In the video, Moncayo musters himself to send Uribe a clear message.
‘FREE’
“Mr. President,” Moncayo says in the video, knocking on the wooden table in front of him with the knuckles of his right hand, “open the door. I want to be free.”
Moncayo also describes life in captivity, saying he and his captors often have to run from government bombing raids.
Uribe, whose father was killed in a 1983 FARC kidnapping attempt, is seen as a hero by many for his US-backed crackdown on the rebels.
He agreed this month to rebel demands that they be allowed to free the 24 hostages one at a time rather than all at once, a reversal in policy that could speed releases.
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