The Colombian government Thursday authorized the Catholic Church to begin direct negotiations with the FARC over the liberation of hostages.
Monsignor Dario Castrillon Hoyos announced that he had received authorization from Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to speak directly with FARC leaders, Radio Santa Fe reported Thursday.
Speaking on Caracol Radio, Castrillon addressed FARC leader ‘Alfonso Cano’ directly. “Alfonso if you hear this, one day when we were on the mountain I said to you: I have seen that you are an intelligent man, you studied, you went to university, I believe your intelligence will lead you to act intelligently… look in your heart to realize that this is not the way to go about things”.
High Commissioner for Peace Frank Pearl said Thursday that he hoped FARC hostages Pablo Emilio Moncayo Cabrera, soldier Jose Daniel Calvo, and the body of Julian Ernesto Guevara would be liberated “within a few weeks”.
The government’s announcement broke months of a stalemate in negotiations. The FARC first announced they would liberate hostages over six months ago. Negotiations stalled because the government and the FARC were unable to reach a compromise on the terms of the hostage release.
