[NYTr] Colombia: ICRC Search Fails to Find Bodies of Deputies

[All the News That Doesn't Fit]

Prensa Latina, Havana
http://www.plenglish.com

Colombia: ICRC Search Fails to Find Bodies of Deputies

Bogota, Sept 9 (Prensa Latina) It was a long and tough week in the
efforts made by the International Red Cross to recover the bodies of 11
former Colombian deputies.

On late Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
informed the relatives of the deceased deputies that five bodies had
been recovered, but searching for the other corpses would depend on
whether the government can guarantee the safety of the rescue team.

On Thursday, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said that the Army
would resume operations on Sunday in Cauca Valley, the region where the
bodies of the ex deputies are, according to the coordinates the
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) gave the ICRC last week.

Authorities have not changed their mind, although the relatives of the
deceased deputies, the Episcopal Conference and the Ombudsman publicly
demanded that the deadline was postponed so that the commission can
complete its work.

An international team of forensic experts, backed by local specialists,
is waiting for the bodies to be transferred to the city of Cali to
identify them and learn about the conditions in which the former
lawmakers were killed.

In April 2002, the FARC captured 12 politicians in Cali, 11 of whom
were killed on June 18, 2007, during a clash between the guerrillas and
an unidentified military group, the insurgents said in a communiqué in
July.

In another press release, the FARC said that they could not identify
the armed group, but warned that the Army, paramilitaries and even
mercenaries were operating in the region.

The FARC blamed the government for the fatal outcome of the operation
to rescue the deputies by force, while President Alvaro Uribe accused
the guerrillas of having executed the ex lawmakers.

hr jg rc

PL-17