News (Media Awareness Project) - Columbia: Wire: Colombian Rebels Send Message To Washington |
Title: | Columbia: Wire: Colombian Rebels Send Message To Washington |
Published On: | 1998-04-25 |
Source: | Associated Press |
Fetched On: | 2008-09-07 11:21:48 |
COLOMBIAN REBELS SEND MESSAGE TO WASHINGTON
LOS ALPES, Colombia (AP) -- Rebels promised release was imminent for the
last of four American bird watchers kidnapped as they tracked a rare,
ground-hugging species in the mountains of Colombia. One of the bird-lovers,
a retired teacher from Illinois, was newly freed.
"They never threatened me. I was never frightened," Louise Augustine, 63, of
Chillicothe said after her release Friday from a month in the captivity of
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. "I prayed for a miracle, and
this is it," said Augustine, a former nun.
The rebels handed her over to government and Red Cross officials in the
remote town of Los Alpes, 60 miles southeast of the capital. A regional
commander of the rebel group met with reporters on a mountainside afterward,
promising that the two birders still held -- Peter Shen of New York City and
Todd Mark of Houston -- would be released soon, perhaps as early as today.
The commander, Marco Aurelio Buendia, read a statement accusing the United
States of intervening on the side of the government in Colombia's fight with
the rebels, which the Colombian army has been losing.
The United States was using its anti-drug war to launch "a campaign of
disinformation that seeks to delegitimize the sacred right of people to rise
up against corrupt and oppressive regimes," the statement alleged.
The rebel group, known by its Spanish initials, FARC, is Colombia's oldest
and largest. It grabbed Augustine and three fellow bird watchers on March 23
a few hours down the mountain from Los Alpes. After Augustine fell and
injured her hips and ribs on April 10, her captors transported her on
muleback -- typical of their respectful treatment throughout, she said.
Augustine said she had no regrets about coming to Colombia, "a wonderful
country" where her group was hoping to sight a bird of the species
Cundinamarca Antpitta, a drab, earthbound creature that is extremely rare.
The bird is only found in this region -- also a favorite rebel kidnapping
spot. The American bird watchers were snared along with more than a dozen
Colombians during a more than four-hour rebel roadblock of the main road
that drops down to eastern plains.
Augustine said the remaining two U.S. captives were in good condition. The
fourth, Thomas Fiore of New York, was found April 2 by a television crew
reporting on the abductions.
He says he escaped, but rebels insist they let him go. An Italian, Vito
Candela, was freed April 15. Most of the Colombians were freed earlier.
Colombia leads the world in kidnappings, with nearly four abductions a day.
Foregners are prized targets because they often fetch higher ransoms --
although there was no indication a ransom was paid for Augustine.
The kidnappings come at a time of heightened U.S. concern over the FARC's
involvement in protecting illegal drug crops and production and its recent
victories over Colombian troops. -- and unsubstantiated reports of planned
U.S. military involvement that have been denied by the Pentagon.
A rebel leader had said early on that the four Americans probably would be
held for up to a year while ransoms were negotiated.
But the rebels apparently settled for the public relations opportunity. They
got considerable media attention in June when they freed 70 captured
soldiers. They've got nearly as many soldier prisoners now.
LOS ALPES, Colombia (AP) -- Rebels promised release was imminent for the
last of four American bird watchers kidnapped as they tracked a rare,
ground-hugging species in the mountains of Colombia. One of the bird-lovers,
a retired teacher from Illinois, was newly freed.
"They never threatened me. I was never frightened," Louise Augustine, 63, of
Chillicothe said after her release Friday from a month in the captivity of
the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. "I prayed for a miracle, and
this is it," said Augustine, a former nun.
The rebels handed her over to government and Red Cross officials in the
remote town of Los Alpes, 60 miles southeast of the capital. A regional
commander of the rebel group met with reporters on a mountainside afterward,
promising that the two birders still held -- Peter Shen of New York City and
Todd Mark of Houston -- would be released soon, perhaps as early as today.
The commander, Marco Aurelio Buendia, read a statement accusing the United
States of intervening on the side of the government in Colombia's fight with
the rebels, which the Colombian army has been losing.
The United States was using its anti-drug war to launch "a campaign of
disinformation that seeks to delegitimize the sacred right of people to rise
up against corrupt and oppressive regimes," the statement alleged.
The rebel group, known by its Spanish initials, FARC, is Colombia's oldest
and largest. It grabbed Augustine and three fellow bird watchers on March 23
a few hours down the mountain from Los Alpes. After Augustine fell and
injured her hips and ribs on April 10, her captors transported her on
muleback -- typical of their respectful treatment throughout, she said.
Augustine said she had no regrets about coming to Colombia, "a wonderful
country" where her group was hoping to sight a bird of the species
Cundinamarca Antpitta, a drab, earthbound creature that is extremely rare.
The bird is only found in this region -- also a favorite rebel kidnapping
spot. The American bird watchers were snared along with more than a dozen
Colombians during a more than four-hour rebel roadblock of the main road
that drops down to eastern plains.
Augustine said the remaining two U.S. captives were in good condition. The
fourth, Thomas Fiore of New York, was found April 2 by a television crew
reporting on the abductions.
He says he escaped, but rebels insist they let him go. An Italian, Vito
Candela, was freed April 15. Most of the Colombians were freed earlier.
Colombia leads the world in kidnappings, with nearly four abductions a day.
Foregners are prized targets because they often fetch higher ransoms --
although there was no indication a ransom was paid for Augustine.
The kidnappings come at a time of heightened U.S. concern over the FARC's
involvement in protecting illegal drug crops and production and its recent
victories over Colombian troops. -- and unsubstantiated reports of planned
U.S. military involvement that have been denied by the Pentagon.
A rebel leader had said early on that the four Americans probably would be
held for up to a year while ransoms were negotiated.
But the rebels apparently settled for the public relations opportunity. They
got considerable media attention in June when they freed 70 captured
soldiers. They've got nearly as many soldier prisoners now.
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